"It seems to me that Glasgow is a wonderful city," remarks one of the boys seriously.

"There can be no doubt about that," answers his father. "There are upwards of a million people living here. The city is almost as large as Philadelphia, although it is not so beautiful. It is now the second city in size and importance in the British Isles. It is like Liverpool in its

shipping, and like Manchester in the amount of its manufacturing."

"What has made Glasgow such an important place?" inquires the boy.

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Several different causes. First of all, it has a harbor which has been made so large and safe that even the mammoth ocean liners can enter. There are men living in Glasgow now who can remember when they waded across the very places in the Clyde where these great vessels now come. It was a great scheme to dredge the

harbor, and now Glasgow has lines of ships that go to ports in almost every part of the world.

"Glasgow (Glaskie, the Scotchmen call it) is also on a rich coal and iron field, and we have seen that the neighborhood of coal and iron has made many cities important. Coal usually brings other industries with it, and there are a great many men in the vicinity working in copper and chemical factories. Shipbuilding, however, as we have seen, is Glasgow's greatest industry.

Again, in the plain south of Glasgow the soil is very fertile, and the air, water, and climate of this section are favorable to certain lines of manufacturing. Hence, near the city we find a large manufacturing population, which provides cargoes for her ships. Being on the west coast, she naturally has a large trade with North and South America, and she has gained and kept much commerce that Bristol once had. Glasgow's location at the mouth. of so important a river as the Clyde has given it another advantage. The upper part of the Clyde basin is devoted to sheep and cattle raising, while on its downward way the river passes a great many busy mining and manufacturing towns. It is easy to see how Glasgow has also become one of the most important railway centres in the United Kingdom.'

"You have not mentioned yet the most important help Glasgow has had in growing so great," suggests one of the boys.

"What is that?"

"The Scotchmen themselves."

"You are right," laughs his father. "The people themselves have had the most to do with Glasgow's greatness. The Scotch are serious, earnest, and hardworking, and they love their homes. Most of them are poor, and they have learned to be frugal and saving. Their music, too,

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has been of a character to develop the serious side of their life. Years ago they had the bagpipe and the harp, and their songs were of conflicts and bravery. Even their games, such as curling, golf, football, and also their shooting and fishing, are not lightly done. It is sometimes said the Scotch do not have a very keen sense of fun, but perhaps we think so because they do not enjoy our jokes as much as they do their own. Whether they have a keen sense of fun or not, they are a strong, earnest, reliable people. Every country into which they have gone has been helped by them, and no country more than America,"

Next morning we leave our hotel and take a walk in some of the streets of Glasgow. What strange names they have! We proceed down Sauchiehall Street, and then pass Garrowgate, Trongate, and other streets. Argyle Street reminds us of Regent Street in London, because it contains so many shops. The venders of strange wares on the street interest us very much. Here is the hot potato man trying to sell his eatables. Near him is a blind man shouting, "Fine laces, only a penny a pair!"

The streets are thronged. In the crowds we see some barefooted women. Many of them are carrying their babies in a shawl that hangs from the mother's neck. Perhaps this custom explains why so many deformed children are seen. We do not, however, see or hear a crying child.

We turn back and walk across one of the many bridges that span the Clyde. As far as we can see on either side, the river is almost filled with boats. What hurrying crowds of busy people are crossing the bridges! Glasgow impresses us as being less beautiful and more enterprising than Edinburgh. The latter city is more literary, historic, and aristocratic. There seems to be

the same difference between the two cities that we found existing between the North and South of England.

We stop a tram car and secure seats on the top. When we pay our fare the conductor informs us that the city government of Glasgow owns all the trolley systems, as well as the telephone lines and the water supply, of the city. Last year Glasgow made almost enough money on the tramways to pay for all the expenses of her schools. And yet the fare, we find, is regulated the same as that in London.

We pass many fine residences. We enter parks in which are monuments to Scott, Burns, and other famous Scotchmen. One sees row upon row of office buildings, in Glasgow, and banks without number, almost. The city is the most thriving we have found since we departed from London.

The following morning we visit the shipyards that extend for miles along the Clyde. We readily believe

the statement of our guide that these are the most extensive shipyards in the world. The din is almost deafening. We visit yards in which only ocean-going boats are made. In others only yachts are built. Ships just begun, ships ready for launchings, ships in various stages of completion, are all about us.

In the afternoon one of our boys expresses his desire to visit one of the factories.

"As there are four thousand different factories in Glasgow, it might be well, before we start, for you to select the one you wish to see," suggests his father. "Tell me what some of them are.'

"Well, you will find factories for making cotton goods, woolen cloth, pottery and metal work; factories for silk weaving, and for fitting out, as well as for building ships." 'Does everybody in Glasgow work in a mill?”

"No. Only a hundred thousand men are employed in them."

It is finally decided to spend the afternoon in one of the largest of the chemical works. We find the plant covers fifteen acres. The tall chimneys rise almost a hundred feet higher than the dome of St. Paul's. Within, the army of men and boys are making and mixing liquids of various kinds, each of which seems to give out a disa- . greeable odor.

On our way back to our hotel one of the boys asks his father: "How old a city is Glasgow?"

"It is believed to have been founded in 560. It did not grow rapidly, however, until the harbor of the Clyde had been made and the trade with America had been developed. And yet Glasgow is not without its history. It was here that James Watts in 1763 constructed his first steam engine. The first steamboat in Europe was built here, too."