It would be a bad thing for England if the tendency on the part of private owners of historic places, to exclude visitors from their premises, should become general.  The disposition seems somewhat on the increase, and not without cause.  Indeed, I was told that in a number of instances the privileges given had been greatly abused; that gardens had been stripped of their flowers and relics of various kinds carried away.  This vandalism was not often charged against Americans, but rather against local 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 excavations had shown that in the many centuries since it was built the earth had risen no less than eight feet in the archway and along the wall.  Lincoln Castle, much decayed and ruinous, is an appropriate feature of one of the public parks.  Along the streets leading up Cathedral Hill are rows of quaint houses, no doubt full of interest; but a motor tour often does not permit one to go much into detail.