al English "trippers," as they are called--people who go to
these places merely for a picnic or holiday. No doubt this could be
overcome--it has been overcome in a number of instances, notably Warwick
Castle and Knole House--by the charge of a moderate admission fee.
People who are willing to pay are not generally of the class who commit
acts of vandalism. That this practice is not adopted to a greater extent
is doubtless due to the fact that numbers of aristocratic owners think
there is something degrading in the appearance of making a commercial
enterprise out of the historic places which they possess.

It is only twenty miles from Retford to Lincoln, and long before we
reached the latter town we saw the towers of its great cathedral, which
crowns a steep hill rising sharply from the almost level surrounding
country. It is not strange that the cathedral-builders, always with an
eye to the spectacular and imposing, should have fixed on this
remarkable hill as a site for one of their churches. For miles from
every direction the three massive towers form a landmark as they rise
above the tile roofs of the town in sharp outline against the sky. To
reach Lincoln we followed a broad, beautiful highway, almost level until
it comes to the town, when it abruptly ascends the hill, which is so
steep as to tax the average motor. The cathedral in some respects is the
most remarkable and imposing in England. The distinctive feature is the
great towers of equal size and height, something similar to those of
Durham, though higher and more beautifully proportioned. The interior
shows some of the finest Norman architecture in the Kingdom and the
great Norman doorway is said to be the most perfect of its kind. Near
the chapel in the cathedral close is a bronze statue of Tennyson
accompanied by his favorite dog. This reminded us that we were in the
vicinity of the poet's birthplace, and we determined that the next point
in our pilgrimage should be Somersby, where the church and rectory of
Tennyson's father still stand.

We planned to reach Boston that evening, and as there were a good many
miles before us we were not able to give the time that really should be
spent in Lincoln. It has many ancient landmarks, the most remarkable
being a section of the Roman wall that surrounded the town about 15 A.D.
and in which the arch of one of the gateways is still entire. It now
appears to have been a very low gateway, but we were informed that
exc