Northwich. 



39 



at which we look, and never is the rule more needed 

 than when the subject is one of delicate tint. They were 

 keen observers, depend upon it, who in the Middle 

 Ages gave name and fame at the same moment to the 

 pretty flowers that still preserve the ancient association 

 with "Our Lady," the Virgin Mary. Lower Peover 

 church is one of the few examples extant of the old- 

 fashioned timber structure, the greater portion of the 

 interior being constructed of oak, while externally, 

 excepting the stone Elizabethan tower, it is "magpie," 

 or black and white, like so many of the old Cheshire 

 halls and ancient manor-houses. An epitaph in the 

 graveyard is not without suggestiveness : 



Peaceable Mary Fairbrother, 

 1766. Aged 90. 



For the return walk there is a cheerful route through 

 fields and lanes to Knutsford, entering the town behind 

 the prison; or, for variety, there is Lostock Gralam 

 station. 



Pushing a few miles further, we find ourselves at 

 Northwich, a place at which there is little occasion to 

 delay, unless it be wished to inspect one of the salt- 

 mines, permission to do so being asked previously of the 

 proprietors. At Whitsuntide the public are in a certain 

 sense invited, and truly, a more interesting and wonderful 

 spectacle than is furnished by the Marston mine it would 

 be hard to provide for holiday pleasure. But at present 

 we are seeking enjoyment upon the surface, and to this 

 end the journey should now be continued to Hartford, 



