SOME BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES 211 



into Scotland ; and both the Pretenders encamped 

 at Preston, not far distant, intending to take pos- 

 session of Warrington Bridge as a stepping-stone 

 to wealthy Manchester. In art and literature 

 Warrington and its vicinity can boast of such 

 representatives as Mrs. Barbould, Mrs. Gaskell, 

 Henry Wood, A.R.A., Warrington Wood, the 

 sculptor, and Luke Fildes, the painter of that 

 most touching picture, " The Doctor." 



Warrington is famous for its canals. Naturally, 

 of these the great ship waterway from Liver- 

 pool to Manchester ranks first in importance a 

 noble work, which we must hope will eventually 

 repay everybody concerned in it. I first saw the 

 canal when it was being constructed, and again 

 when its traffic was in full swing. It was most 

 interesting to note how, at the hooting of a 

 distant steamer, the great swing bridges turned 

 round majestically by hydraulic power, fitted 

 snugly into a recess at the side of the canal, 

 leaving the watercourse perfectly clear. 



Walking in the fields near the town one is 

 startled by seeing the slender masts and big 

 funnels of a steamer moving in the distance, the 

 hull invisible. At all hours of the day and night 

 the vessels are heard, and sometimes, should the 

 bridge-keepers seem dilatory, the summons is 



