silk mills as we ride about the city. Indeed, the first silk mill in England was built here. The dampness of the air, as well as the quality of the water, makes Derby also an excellent place for manufacturing cotton, and we are not surprised when we pass huge mills in which vast quantities of cotton goods have been made. We learn that Derby is not only a modern city, but that it has a history as well. There was a town here in the days of William the Conqueror, which he gave to his

son.

In the evening a ride of forty miles by train carries. us northward to Sheffield, a town of over four hundred thousand people, the sixth in size in England. It is evening as we approach, and the city seems almost to be on fire. Great flames are darting upward and heavy masses of smoke rest over the place. We are not surprised at the sight, however, because we have already learned that Sheffield is the leading town for certain products of iron. Coal-beds, iron mines, good water, stone for grinding, all are here or near by, and combine. to aid this industry.

In the morning, however, the boys laughingly declare that Sheffield appears better by night, because then the dingy walls of the great factories cannot be seen. How busy every one is! What a clatter salutes us when we go to the iron mills! We see hundreds of men and boys making saws. In other mills we watch the men as they make files or fine cutlery. Before we depart, the boys purchase some fine pocket-knives and scissors, and their fathers buy razors. We have heard of Sheffield steel long before we came here, and we are glad actually to see it made.

Our boys are deeply interested in the mills where steel cannon are made. What powerful guns they are! We

SHEFFIELD

155 see, too, where the heavy plates are manufactured for the ironclads of England's navy! Even the shells that are made here seem too weak to pierce them. There is a roar in the shops that makes it impossible for us to hear one another speak. We stop for a moment to watch a huge hammer-like machine that is perforating some sheets of steel, apparently as easily as a knife cuts cheese. We conclude, however, as we leave the mills, that no man can make anything so strong that some one cannot be found who can make something stronger still. After a brief time spent in the factories where immense quantities of silver plated ware are made, we are ready to continue our northward journey.

The long evening twilight is just coming on as we enter our train. Swiftly we dart through many villages in which we see the glare that rises from the iron mills. We cross many streams whose tumbling waters are rushing down the hillsides on their way to the sea. We are impressed, too, by the number of coal and iron mines, as well as by the great flocks of sheep and herds of cattle in the country. In the cities or on the farms the only houses we see are of brick or stone. Indeed, we have not found a half dozen frame houses since we landed in England.

"What a busy region the North of England is!" says one of the boys thoughtfully. "There are mines and mills and factories almost everywhere we go. Every place is interesting, but each seems to have its own special work."

"That is true," replies his father, "of almost every city in the North or West of England. Every one has its own particular industry. The scarlet uniforms of the British soldiers are made at Stroud. Halifax manufactures flannel and carpets. Rochdale specializes in blank

ets. Bradford literally turns out thousands of miles of tweeds-'

"I thought 'tweeds' were made near the river Tweed," suggests one of our party.

"They are, but the name of the cloth is derived from twilled, not Tweed."

"Can we buy some of the cloth ?" inquires one of the boys.

"You can," says his father; "but if you do, you will want to take it home and have it made up by American tailors, and the duty will make it as expensive as if you bought the goods in America."

As Bradford is only about twenty-five miles north of Sheffield, our ride thither requires less than an hour. We find the city a busy but not a very attractive place. Woolen mills are everywhere. We pass through streets where we see little besides the dingy walls of these mills. We enter one or two. How many girls, even old women, we see at work! We wonder at first how the output of all these hundreds of mills can ever be used; but when we think of the fleets of boats we saw in Liverpool, we can realize where it all goes. Bradford manufactures woolen goods not only for England, but for all the world.

One of our most interesting visits in Bradford is to the Technical School. We were not able to visit the technical schools in Derby, Birmingham, and other cities, and are therefore glad of the opportunity to do it in Bradford. We find several hundred young men at work in the engineering, chemical, electrical, and other departments. The work is of the most practical kind. When the students are studying chemistry, they are taught the various methods of dyeing silk or wool. When they study electricity, they spend much time in the electrical works of the city. The same thing is true in every

department of the school. One of our men in his enthusiasm says, "Every technical school ought to be located in a place where men can be seen at work in the very subject a pupil is studying." This certainly is true of the schools in the North of England. Although the national schools are not so good as our public schools, the technical schools are surely very practical and thorough.

Less than ten miles east from Bradford is Leeds, the fifth largest city in England and the largest in the North. Here we spend a day. Although this is the real centre of the cloth industry, we do not visit many of the mills because they resemble so closely those we have already seen. Immense warehouses and towering factory chimneys in every direction give us the impression that this is a place of great industry and enterprise. The people all seem to be employed and happy. From the centre of the city we find the streets diverging like the spokes of a wheel from the hub. The City Square in the centre of the town is quite imposing, but there are no striking buildings. The city is much like the manufacturing towns at home.

The following day finds us moving eastward, and we are still in Yorkshire, the largest of all the counties. Yorkshire is the basin of the River Ouse, and covers six thousand square miles. After journeying among hills and crossing moors, we find ourselves in the midst of a fertile plain, almost every acre of which is under cultivation. The tiny canals are so numerous that they look almost like stripes painted on the landscape. Railroads, too, are seen in almost every direction. We decide that Yorkshire is a busy, thriving, beautiful region even before we come to the great salt fields and mines in the eastern part.

The people of Yorkshire are shrewd and fond of busi

ness. There is a saying in England, that "Five Scotchmen are required to trade with one Yorkshireman."

About an hour is required for our journey of fifty miles to Hull, where we are again near the coast. We are interested at once in the city at the mouth of the Humber, - the greatest seaport of the North. A good-sized population thrives in the old town. On the morning after our arrival, we go down to the harbor. Along the docks there are so many boats that the masts and smoke-stacks make us think of a forest. How long the harbor is, and how wide! If we should sail from it directly across the North Sea, we should find ourselves at the Kiel Canal entrance to the Baltic Sea. We have already seen what an enormous population is found in the country behind Hull. No wonder, with such a location, that this large, safe harbor presents a busy scene.

We see ships loaded with ice that has been brought from Norway. We watch men loading huge steamers