rliamentarians that their commanders spared no effort to protect
the minster, which accounts largely for its excellent preservation. The
Commander-in-Chief, General Fairfax, was a native of Yorkshire and no
doubt had a kindly feeling for the great cathedral, which led him to
exert his influence against its spoliation. Such buildings can stand
several fires without much damage, since there is little to burn except
the roof, and the cathedrals suffered most severely at the hands of the
various contending factions into which they fell during the civil wars.

The quaintest of old-time York streets is The Shambles, a narrow lane
paved with cobblestones and only wide enough to permit the passing of
one vehicle at a time. It is lined on either side with queer,
half-timbered houses, and in one or two places these have sagged to such
an extent that their tops are not more than two or three feet apart. In
fact it is said that neighbors in two adjoining buildings may shake
hands across the street. The Shambles no doubt took its name from the
unattractive row of butcher shops which still occupy most of the small
store-rooms on either side. Hardly less picturesque than The Shambles is
the Petergate, and no more typical bits of old-time England may be found
anywhere than these two ancient lanes. Glimpses of the cathedral towers
through the rows of odd buildings is a favorite theme with the artists.
Aside from its antiquity, its old-world streets and historic buildings
are quite up to the best of the English cities. It is an important
trading and manufacturing point, though the prophecy of the old saw,

"Lincoln was, London is, York shall be.
The greatest city of the three,"

seems hardly likely to be realized.

XIII

A ZIG-ZAG TRIP FROM YORK TO NORWICH

Late in the afternoon we left York over the Great North Road for
Retford, from whence we expected to make the "Dukeries" circuit. The
road runs through a beautiful section and passes many of the finest of
the English country estates. It leads through Doncaster, noted for its
magnificent church, and Bawtry, from whence came many of the Pilgrim
Fathers who sailed in the Mayflower. This road is almost level
throughout, and although it rained continuously, the run of fifty miles
was made in record time--that is, as we reckoned record time.

At Retford we were comfortably housed at the White Hart Hotel, a well
conducted hostelry for a town of ten thousand. The "White