Cambridge

Cambridge. 1. A town of England, capital of the county of Cambridgeshire, situated on both sides of the Cam. Apart from its famous university (the beginnings of which are placed in the 12th century) it possesses few features of general interest, The streets, with some exceptions, are narrow and winding, and among its edifices the most interesting are its churches. St. Benedict's, for instance, exhibits in its tower one of the finest specimens of Saxon architecture known as "long and short work," and the church of the Holy Sepulchre, built in 1101, in imitation of the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, is the oldest of the four round churches in England. Among modern churches, the Roman Catholic church, built in 1887, and dedicated to "Our Lady and the English Martyrs," is a handsome building. Cambridge is an old town, having been the site of a Roman station, Camboritum, traces of which still remain, and of the Saxon town, Grantabrygge. Its trade is determined by its situation in an agricultural district, and largely dependent upon the custom of the resident members of the university. 2. A city of the United States, in Massachusetts, is a suburb of Boston, from which it is separated by the Charles river. Though one of the oldest towns in New England, having been first settled in 1630, it is yet well laid out with spacious streets and wide open spaces. Amongst its institutions the most important is Harvard University, and it is a centre in the book-making trade in America, For many years it was the home of Longfellow.