among the
best in England and afford access to most of the important points. We
learned, however, that there is much of interest to be reached only from
byways, but that these may lead over steep and even dangerous hills and
are often in not much better condition than our American roads.

We left Durham about noon, following a rather indirect route to
Darlington; from thence, through hawthorne-bordered byways, we came to
Richmond, one of the quaintest and most representative of the old
Yorkshire towns. We happened here on market day and the town was crowded
with farmers from the surrounding country. Here we saw many types of the
Yorkshire man, famed for his shrewdness and fondness for what we would
call "dickering." Much of the buying and selling in English towns is
done on market day; live stock, produce, farm implements, and almost
every kind of merchandise are sold at auction in the public market
place. If a farmer wants to dispose of a horse or to buy a mowing
machine, he avails himself of this auction and the services of a
professional auctioneer. Such an individual was busily plying his
vocation in front of the King's Head Hotel, and the roars of laughter
from the farmers which greeted his sallies as he cried his wares
certainly seemed to indicate that the charge that Englishmen can not
appreciate humor--at least of a certain kind--is a base slander. As
Richmond is the center of one of the best farming districts in
Yorkshire, its market day was no doubt a typical one.

Richmond Castle at one time was one of the most formidable and strongly
situated of the northern fortresses. It stands on an almost
perpendicular rock, rising one hundred feet above the River Swale, but
with the exception of the Norman keep the ruins are scanty indeed. There
is enough of the enclosing walls to give some idea of the extent of the
original castle, which covered five acres, its magnificent position
commanding the whole of the surrounding country. The keep is now used as
a military storehouse. The soldier-guard in charge was very courteous
and relieved us the necessity of securing a pass from the commandant, as
was required by a notice at the castle entrance. He conducted us to the
top of the great tower, from which we were favored with one of the
finest views in Central England and one that is almost unobstructed in
every direction. Unfortunately, a blue mist obscured much of the
landscape, but the guard told us that on clear days Yor