on his own ground, he may find an endless supply of food for thought,
which will afford him much greater pleasure and satisfaction than
thinking and talking about his neighbours' faults, reflecting upon his
wrongs, or imitating the example of one of his class who, when asked
by the squire what he was thinking so deeply about, replied, "Mostly
naught." To remove the pall of ignorance that darkens the rustic mind,
to quicken his understanding and awaken his interest, are certainly
desirable objects; although his ignorance is very often shared by his
betters, who frequently hazard very strange theories and manifest many
curious ideas with regard to village antiquities.

We will walk together through the main roads of the village, and observe
some of its many points of interest. Indeed, it is no small thing to live
in such a "city of memories" as every village is, when at every turn and
corner we meet with something that reminds us of the past, and recalls
the pleasing associations of old village life. To those who have lived
amid the din and turmoil of a large town, where everybody is in a hurry,
and there is nothing but noise, confusion, and bustle, the delicious
calm and quietude of an old English village, undisturbed by the world's
rude noise, is most grateful. But to live in memory of what has gone
before, of the lives and customs of our forefathers, of the strange
events that have happened on the very ground upon which we are standing,
all this will make us love our village homes and delight in them
exceedingly. In most of our large towns the old features are fast
disappearing; historical houses have been pulled down to make room
for buildings more adapted to present needs, and everything is being
modernised; but in the country everything remains the same, and it is
not so difficult to let one's thoughts wander into the past, and picture
to one's self the old features of village life in bygone times.