together. They called after us, expressing their discontent that we had
betrayed them to the sexton, and saying that it was not they who made the
noise. Going homeward, we went astray in a green lane, that terminated
in the midst of a field, without outlet, so that we had to retrace a good
many of our footsteps.

Close to the wall of the church, beside the door, there was an ancient
baptismal font of stone. In fact, it was a pile of roughly hewn stone
steps, five or six feet high, with a block of stone at the summit, in
which was a hollow about as big as a wash-bowl. It was full of
rainwater.

The church seems to be St. Andrew's Church, Lower Bebbington, built in
1100.


September 1st.--To-day we leave the Rock Ferry Hotel, where we have spent
nearly four weeks. It is a comfortable place, and we have had a good
table and have been kindly treated. We occupied a large parlor,
extending through the whole breadth of the house, with a bow-window,
looking towards Liverpool, and adown the intervening river, and to
Birkenhead, on the hither side. The river would be a pleasanter object,
if it were blue and transparent, instead of such a mud-puddly hue; also,
if it were always full to its brine; whereas it generally presents a
margin, and sometimes a very broad one, of glistening mud, with here and
there a small vessel aground on it.

Nevertheless, the parlor-window has given us a pretty good idea of the
nautical business of Liverpool; the constant objects being the little
black steamers puffing unquietly along, sometimes to our own ferry,