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much attention to the subject. Many years after the publica- 
tion of the History of Hallamshire, he confessed that his 
mind inclined to the conjecture that it stood on the spot 
where Sheffield Castle afterwards reared its head. 
Soon after the Conquest, on the triangular plot of ground 
formed by the junction of the Sheaf with the Don, and now 
partly occupied by the Royal Hotel, a castle sprung up at 
Sheffield, and around it gathered, for protection, the nucleus 
of the present town. For nearly 800 years there have 
been, through the Lovetots, the Furnivals, the Talbots, and 
the Howards, a succession, by inheritance, of noble lords, 
unbroken by forfeiture: a circumstance which, so far as I 
remember, is unparalleled in the history of any other town in 
the kingdom. Indeed, during the whole of this long period 
the history of the town is filled with curious and romantic 
incidents. 
In the mind's eye we picture its ancient lords, the flower 
of chivalry, emerging with their knightly retinue from the 
spacious portals of their many-turreted castle, to enjoy the 
chase, or wave their proud standard on the battle-field. 
We look back to a glorious past of exciting associations. 
We see in the present a large, important, and prosperous 
town, filled with an intelligent, industrious, and thriving 
population. We cast our eye forward, and discern in the 
vista of the future a great and noble sphere for the good old 
town. May she faithfully fulfil the great destiny which 
awaits her, and take that high position in literature, science, 
and the useful and ornamental arts, which she so well deserves ! 
