A Churchyard Ghost.

story commencing , " He wo ' nt—wo ' nt he ? Then bring me my boots , said the baron ; " and if the legend does not satisf y the visitor , we regret the fact , as it is the only explanation extant that we know of , inconclusive as it is . In front of the rails of the communion table is to be seen an ancient brass , representing a knight ancl his lady , ancl , like the rest , the knight is in full armour . He was probabl y a Templar , from the fact of his legs being crossed .

The old Sheppey worthies thus eommemorated are said to be Sir Roger cle Northwood ancl his lad y Bona ; but the inscription is worn out , ancl the names are possibly only guessed at . Visitors are also shown portions of a large figure , dug up in the churchyard in 1833 , probably the remains of some monument originally erected in the chapel ]? ulled clown by Lord Cheyney in the reign of Elizabeth . Some other relics were dug up at the same time

, amongst which is a grotesque corbel representing a nun ' s head . The other features of the church are more or less curious ancl interesting to the arclueologist , and the graveyard contains some old tablets and tombs with quaint epitaphs . The top of the tower and the roof of the church are reached by an ancient well-staircase from the belfry . On the other side will be seen the top of a similar staircase . Old legends tell how this last is said to lead

to a subterraneous passage connecting Minster Church with Shurland Manor House , or Castle , as it was called in Sir Robert ' s time . As this is situated in the next parish of Eastchurch , the legend will find , we expect , small faith from those who walk the distance to the jireseiit Shurland House . Probabl y this staircase might have been connected with some passage leading from the adjacent abbey , which once stood upon a large space of ground on that side of the church .

" The building near the church , now known as the "Abbey Farm " House , is all that remains of a once spacious establishment . This building was evidently only the gate-house of the abbey or monastery . " Bluff King Hal " has the credit of dispersing the nuns . Sexburga , who founded the monastery , was , we are told , a princess , the daughter of Annas , King of East Anglia , ancl the widow of Ercombert , King of Kent . About the year 570 , or some twelve

centuries ago , King Egbert , her son , gave Sexburga the land , and thereon she built and handsomely endowed a monastery for seventy nuns , of which she was the first abbess . In after years , the Danes , who made Sheppey their head-quarters for years at a time , repeatedly dealt very roughly with the poor nuns , and drove them away . In 1130 , one Archbishop Corboil renovated the placeand it seems to have been retained by the Benedictine nuns in tolerable

, peace ancl comfort , save that they grew poorer , until , in the reign of Henry VIII ., all that were left were a prioress ancl ten nuns . The King cave Alice Crane , the prioress , a pension of £ 14 , ancl suppressed the establishment . Curious tales might be told of the experiences of these poor sisters in the unsettled times between the reign of Canute and the seventh century ; and later onsome interesting particulars might be given of what " life in a

, nunnery" was like in an out-of-the-way spot like Minster in Sheppey . That the exact records are few is very likely , but materials exist which , aided by historical associations , might serve to fill in an instructive and entertaining picture of old English ancl mediaeval convent life . " Efforts are now being made to restore this ancient edifice according to plans prepared by an eminent architect .

THE GHOST . AT the close of a summer ' s day , after a very pleasant ramble along and among the pretty sea-girt cliffs of Sheppey , I called upon a cousin who resided in the village of Minster . His house and garden was on the side of the