It is a curious and remarkable fact, that the spots which were consecrated in those early days by the religious establishments of the times, have preserved in almost every case their sacredness to the present day.

Winchester is now famed all over England for its great Cathedral church, and the vast religious establishment which has its seat there--the annual revenues and expenditures of which far exceed those of many of the states of this Union.

The income of the bishop alone was for many years double that of the salary of the President of the United States.

The Bishop of Winchester is widely celebrated, therefore, all over England, for his wealth, his ecclesiastical power, the architectural grandeur of the Cathedral church, and the wealth and importance of the college of ecclesiastics over which he presides.
[Illustration: CORONATION CHAIR.] It was in Winchester that Alfred was crowned.

As soon as the ceremony was performed, he took the field, collected his forces, and went to meet the Danes again.