ROUTE NO. 1.

The ferry boats between Liverpool (landingstage) and Birkenhead cross frequently. It is only fifteen and a half miles from Liverpool to Chester, this rarely interesting Roman city which was the "Castra" of the 20th Legion. It has four main streets that start from a common center and run north, east, south, and west, with some fine old gates, and the curious "Rows" with their shops.

The Roman Wall is two miles in circuit, is from twelve to forty feet in height, and forms a unique promenade. It was the daughter of Alfred the Great who, in 907, restored the wall.

Electric cars at the railway station take the visitor to the center of the city, passing through City Road, Foregate Street, and through the East Gate to The Cross, which is the center of the city. It is a good plan to stay on the cars to the end of the route, turning into Bridge Street, thence into Grosvenor Road, where the old Castle will be seen on the left, and the Military Barracks on the right. Here again the Roman Wall is seen, on the right the Roodee Race Course, the Cricket and Football Grounds, and when the bridge over the River

Dee is crossed there is a view of a bit of Eaton Park (at the Overleigh Lodge entrance), and on to the town of Saltney, a suburb of Chester. This gives a very good idea of the city. Return to the East Gate and ascend the steps to the wall. Walk to Phoenix Tower, also called King Charles's Tower, passing the Cathedral.

The Phoenix Tower at the northeast angle of the wall is the point from which Charles I and his officers watched the battle of Rowton Moor, when his troops were defeated by the parliamentary forces. While the battle began on the Moor about three miles away, the royal troops were forced back nearly to the site of the present railway station.

A sufficient idea of the walls will be obtained by this walk, and returning to the East Gate and Eastgate Street, a turning to the right brings one to the Cathedral, built of red sandstone and dating from the fourteenth century. Through a period of three hundred years the building progressed in construction, and each period of architecture may be noted, the whole effect being most harmonious. The interior is beautiful, with a Gothic stone screen separating the nave from the choir; choir stalls with delicate canopies and pinnacles; a Bishop's Throne; and a cloister that is one of the most beautiful

in England. Next to the Cathedral is the King's School.

Continuing by the little street that takes a turn by the Cathedral, the visitor will come into Northgate Street, and turning to the left, passing the Town Hall and Market, will reach again The Cross and the "Rows." These offer the chief attraction in Chester, and nowhere else in the world will they be found just as they are here. There are various theories about the singular arrangement of the Rows. One is that they were of Roman construction; another that they were planned to protect the people from the Welshmen, the open arcade offering convenient space to fight the horsemen; still another, and probably the true one, is that the streets had to be lowered in the thirteenth century. When this was done, and the stone was cut away in front of the buildings, it left the cellars exposed; these were turned into shops, the original shops were left above, and steps at street ends led to the second story. They are certainly attractive for a promenade, and one never wearies of rambling through them.

From The Cross one should stroll into Westgate Street (a continuation of Eastgate Street) and see some of the quaint old half-timbered houses. On the left is "God's Providence

House," and there is Quellyn Roberts & Co.'s Old Crypt, Bishop Lloyd's Palace, the Yacht Inn, and Custom House Inn.

Bridge Street, south of The Cross, has a Roman Bath at the left, in a shop between the Rows and St. Michael's Church. On the right, near the corner, is a shop that has an ancient crypt; out of Bridge Street runs Lower Bridge Street, and on the right are some fine old inns the "Falcon," the "Old King's Head," and the "Bear and Billet."

In Grosvenor Street is the grand old Castle, now a Military Depot, Assize and County Courts, County Council offices, and in the courtyard is the Jubilee Memorial of Queen Victoria.

Outside the city wall, near East Gate, is St. John's Street, with the Post Office, Free Library, and News Room, and on the left is Little St. John Street, that brings one to St. John's Church and ruins. This church was built just after the Romans left England, by Ethelred, 674-704. It has suffered by the falling of its towers, and only the nave remains to be used. There was once an old house that stood among the ruins of St. John's, at the eastern section, and in this house Thomas De Quincey once lived for a long time. It was De Quincey who wrote the famous work, "The Confessions of an

Opium Eater." Adjoining St. John's churchyard is Grosvenor Park, given to the city by the Duke of Westminster.

A very pleasant visit may be made from Chester to Eaton Hall, either by boat on the River Dee or by carriage. This estate of the Duke of Westminster is one of the finest in England, and in the summer the state apartments and gardens may be visited. The group of statuary in the courtyard, of a rearing horse held by a groom, is the work of Sir J. E. Boehm, R. A., and he also made a recumbent figure of the first Duchess of Westminster that is in the Chapel. In the clock tower there are twenty-eight bells that play twenty-one selections and are very musical. The central hall has pieces of statuary and fine paintings, most of them representing historic events. There is a great picture in the salon, giving in panoramic effect the procession of Chaucer's "Canterbury Pilgrims.'

The gardens are very fine, with conservatories and a pretty tea house. The charge of 18. (25 cents) to visit the apartments, and 6d. (12 cents) to see the gardens, amounts to a goodly sum in a year, and this is used entirely for local charities, such as the Chester Infirmary and the Rhyl Convalescent Home.