lly it is open to visitors, but in
the confusion that followed the visit of the king the day before, the
castle and its great park had been closed until the next week. We had
seen the interior of so many similar places that this was not so much of
a disappointment, especially as we had a splendid view of the old
fortress from the outside and also from the courtyard. On the
battlements of this castle are numerous stone figures of men in the act
of hurling down missiles on the heads of foes who might besiege it. This
was quite common in early days and feudal barons perhaps thought to make
up for their shortage of real men by placing these effigies on the walls
of their fortresses, but Alnwick is the only castle on which the figures
still remain. The town itself was still in holiday attire in honor of
its royal guest of the preceding day. The buildings were covered with
the national colors and many decorations and illuminations had been
planned to celebrate the occasion. Alnwick is one of the most typical
of the English feudal towns. It is owned largely by the Duke of
Northumberland, who appears to be popular with his tenantry, the latter
having erected, in honor of their noble landlord, a lofty column
surmounted by the figure of a lion. Every view from the distance for
miles around is dominated by the battlemented and many-towered walls of
the castle, which surmounts a hill overlooking the town. The story of
Alnwick and its castle would be long to tell, for they bore the brunt of
many Scotch incursions and suffered much at the hands of the fierce
marauders from the north.

Our afternoon's run led us from Alnwick to Durham, passing through
Newcastle-on-Tyne. Newcastle is a large commercial city, famous for its
mining and shipbuilding industries, and has but little to engage the
attention of the tourist. Our pause was a short one, and we reached
Durham in good time after a run of over one hundred miles, broken by
several lengthy stops on the way.

The main street of Durham in many places is barely wide enough for two
vehicles to pass. It winds and twists through the town in such a way
that one seems to be almost moving in a circle at times and constant
inquiry is necessary to keep from being lost on the main street of a
city of fifteen or twenty thousand. The town is almost as much of a
jumble as if its red, tile-roof buildings had been promiscuously thrown
to their places from Cathedral Hill. Durham is strictly an
eccles