London to John O* Groat's. 305 



nished steel erected to her memory on one of these 

 hills. More than this ; as Empress of Crinoline, she 

 should wear the iron crown of Charlemagne in her own 

 right. Her husband's empire is but a mere arrondisse- 

 ment compared with the domain that does homage to 

 her sceptre. Sheffield is the great arsenal of her arma- 

 ments. Sheffield cases ships of war with iron plates a 

 foot thick ; but that is nothing, in pounds avoirdupois, 

 compared with the weight of steel it spins into elastic 

 springs for casing the skirts of two hundred millions 

 of the fair Eugenie's sex and lieges in the two hemi- 

 spheres. It is estimated that ten thousand tons of steel 

 are annually absorbed into this use in Christendom ; 

 and Sheffield, doubtless, furnishes a large proportion of it. 

 Here I had another involuntary walk, not put down 

 in the programme of my expectations. On inquiring 

 the way to Fir Vale, a picturesque suburb where a 

 friend resided, I was directed to a locality which, it was 

 suggested, must be the one I meant, though it was 

 called Fir View. I followed the direction given for a 

 considerable distance, when it was varied successively 

 by persons of whom I occasionally inquired. After 

 ascending and descending a number of steep hills, I 

 suddenly came down upon the town again from the 

 south, having made a complete circuit of it; a per- 

 formance that cost me about two hours of time and 



