in places, and built up on both sides with houses--largely homes of
miners and mill operatives. The pavement is of rough cobble-stones, and
swarms of dogs and children crowded the way everywhere. Under such
conditions, the numerous steep hills, narrow places and sharp turns in
the road made progress slow indeed. It was evident that the British
motorists generally avoid this country, for we met no cars and our own
attracted attention that showed it was not a common spectacle. However,
the trip was none the less an interesting one as showing a bit of the
country and a phase of English life not usually seen by tourists.

There is little to detain one within the city of Leeds itself, but there
are many places of interest in its immediate vicinity. There are few
more picturesque spots in Yorkshire than Wharfdale, with its riotous
little river and ruins of Bolton Abbey and Barden Tower. This lies about
fifteen miles to the northwest, and while for special reasons we went to
Ilkley Station by train, the trip is a fine motor drive over good roads.
The park which contains the abbey and castle is the property of the Duke
of Devonshire, who keeps it at all times open to the public. The River
Wharfe, rippling over shingly rocks, leaping in waterfalls and
compressed into the remarkable rapids called the Strid, only five or six
feet wide but very deep and terribly swift, is the most striking feature
of the park. The forest-clad cliffs on either side rise almost
precipitously from the edges of the narrow dale, and from their summit,
if the climb does not deter one, a splendid view presents itself. The
dale gradually opens into a beautiful valley and here the old abbey is
charmingly situated on the banks of the river. The ruins are not
extensive, but the crumbling walls, bright with ivy and wall flowers,
and with the soft green lawn beneath, made a delightful picture in the
mottled sunshine and shadows of the English May day.