hampton, and of many other cities and towns in its. vicinity. Almost every place is best known for its production of some special article. Location, climate, water, and means of transportation usually combine to determine what this is.

QUESTIONS

What are some of the differences between English and American railways?

Where is the Dee? Describe its course.

Mention the most interesting features of Chester.

Why did the Romans come to Chester ?

Why are so many small articles of steel or iron manufactured in Birmingham ?

For what special traits are the people of Birmingham noted?

SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITTEN WORK

A visit to a duke's estate.

Describe a walk along an English country road.

Look up and write a brief story of the life of Oliver Cromwell.

CHAPTER IV

CASTLES AND COLLEGES

Counties Rural England Warwick Old Wall Streets, Houses, and Signs St. Mary's Church Where the Families of Washington and Franklin lived Warwick Castle -Kenilworth Castle - Guy's Cliff — An English Summer Resort "The Left is the Right"-Shakespeare's House Memorial Building - Anne Hathaway's Cottage - The Avon - Oxford - King Alfred Oxford University Dress of Students Life and Games Christ Church Great Tom - Quadrangles — " Halls " for Women Students.

ONE of the first lessons a traveler in England learns is that the country is divided into forty counties, the largest of which is Yorkshire in the northeastern part, and the smallest Rutlandshire in the eastern part. The former is a little larger than the State of Connecticut, and the latter is about twice the size of the District of Columbia.

These counties correspond to our states rather than to the counties into which our states are divided. Each county has its county-town or capital, its courts, and a governing body called the County Council. As the English people speak of "going up to Lancashire," or "down to Kent," much as we speak of going to Ohio or Florida, we must keep the counties in mind if we are to follow the boys and girls in their travels.

"What counties have we been in already?" inquires one of the boys, after we are settled in the train speeding southward from Birmingham.

"Lancashire, Cheshire, and Warwickshire," replies one of the party. "We have not seen much of the last, for Birmingham is just inside a corner of it; all the rest is rural."

"Are Scotland, Ireland, and Wales divided into counties, too?" asks another.

"Yes, Ireland has thirty-two counties, and Scotland, which groups hers into the Counties of the Highlands, the Lowland Plains, and the Lowland Hills, has the same number. Wales has twelve counties."

"Altogether, then, there are 116 counties in the British Isles ?"

"Yes, and we are now traveling in one of the most interesting Warwickshire in the Midlands. On this

ride we shall see what a large part of rural England looks like. See what beautiful roads there are! Look at the quaint cottages with their thatched roofs ! And the sheep! So many more than one sees in America! And yet three sevenths of the wool used in England comes from Australia."

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England raises a good many horses," remarks one of the boys, pointing to a drove that can be seen from the window,

"But we do not see so many pigs as in our country," declares one of the girls.

"No, not so many; and yet the best hams and bacon in the world are raised here. England raises fewer sheep, horses, cattle, and pigs than some other countries, but what she does raise are among the best in the world."

The train has now arrived at Warwick, the capital of Warwickshire, and the quaint old city and its people at once interest us.

Warwick is indeed very, very old. It is still partly surrounded by the ancient wall that was built as far back as the ninth century. The

old, old houses open directly upon the narrow streets, and beside the door of each dwelling a bell and chain indicate the means by which a visitor may announce his presence. Strange signs over the doors of the shops and inns greet us as we walk along the streets. "Forage stores" indicates that hay and grain are for sale. A "Livery and Bait Stable" invites people to feed their horses, and a "Coal Merchant and Haulier" promises to provide "coals." The names of the hotels are delightfully odd: "The Simple Briton," "The Green Man Inn," "Queen's Head," "Malt and Shovel," "Rose and Crown,"

"Star and Garter." One of the girls reads aloud a rhyme which she has found in a London newspaper :

I'm amused at the signs

As I pass through the town,
To see the odd mixture -

A "Magpie and Crown,"
The "Whale and the Crow,"
The "Razor and Hen,"
The "Leg and Seven Stars,"
The "Scissors and Pen,"
The "Axe and the Bottle,"
The "Tun and the Lute,"

The "Eagle and Child,"

The "Shovel and Boot."

Indeed, so quaint and old in every way is this English town that, as we walk about its streets, we seem to be living in another century.

Of course we visit St. Mary's Church, in the crypt of which are the tombs of many famous men, and near which an old ducking stool, in which scolding women were tied and ducked, is still to be seen. From the belfry of this church the curfew bell was rung in the days when all England must be abed by nine o'clock. At the side of the chancel is a cell which was reserved for soldiers who came home lepers from the crusades. It is pathetic to see the little hole in the wall through which they watched the service, forbidden to be with their friends because they were "unclean."

It is with the greatest interest that we learn that the family of George Washington came to America from Northamptonshire, a county adjoining Warwick, and that from there, also, came the ancestors of Benjamin Franklin. Sulgrave Manor was the home of the Washington family, and Eckton that of the Franklins.

We have not been long in Warwick before we make