House and Garden 
/'eoo p 
O U N 1 O 
VV yoB^. 
the worshipers who gather 
are the merest handful. I he 
building is usually of stone, 
and is beautiful in its thick- 
walled massiveness, its age, 
and its simple, dignified archi¬ 
tecture—beautiful likewise in 
the sentiment imparted by 
the churchyard where sleep 
the unnumbered generations 
of the past. The churchyard 
is sure to have excellent care, 
and weeds and wild bushes 
get no foothold. Grass and 
flowers are encouraged to do 
their best, the paths are kept 
neat and trim, and the spot 
is a pleasant place of resort. 
Near by is the village green, 
which is, however, less green 
than the churchyard. On it the children play 
and the turf does not flourish beneath their 
hobnailed shoes. In some communities the 
green is a haunt of the geese and ducks and 
other fowls, and may serve on occasion as 
the camping ground of a caravan of gypsies. 
Now and then you happen on a village 
that once was a market-town, but has been 
A ROW OF COTTAGES 
superseded by a rival place of more favored 
situation and more vigorous growth. The 
hamlet which has dropped out in the race 
still retains the open square that was the 
market-place, and perhaps has the old 
market cross standing prominent on the 
square, a silent reminder of the noisy scenes 
of traffic that once enlivened the vicinity. 
AN OLD MILL ALDERLEY 
