Seven English Cities

Seven English Cities

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Seven English Cities, by W. D. Howells #58 in our series by W. D. Howells
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Title: Seven English Cities
Author: W. D. Howells
Release Date: December, 2004 [EBook #7187] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on March 24, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-Latin-1
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SEVEN ENGLISH CITIES
by
W. D. HOWELLS
Illustrated
[Illustration: A VIEW OF MONK BAR]
* * * * *
BOOKS OF TRAVEL AND COMMENT BY WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS
ROMAN HOLIDAYS............................... net $3.00 Traveller's Edition...................... net 3.00
CERTAIN DELIGHTFUL ENGLISH TOWNS, Ill'd...... net 3.00 Traveller's Edition...................... net 3.00
LONDON FILMS. Illustrated.................... net 2.25 Traveller's Edition...................... net 2.25
A LITTLE SWISS SOJOURN....................... .50
MY YEAR IN A LOG CABIN. Illustrated.......... .50
CRITICISM AND FICTION........................ 1.00
HEROINES OF FICTION. Illustrated............. net 3.75
IMPRESSIONS AND EXPERIENCES.................. 1.50
LITERARY FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCE. Ill'd..... 2.50
LITERATURE AND LIFE.......................... net 2.25
MODERN ITALIAN POETS. Illustrated............ 2.00
MY LITERARY PASSIONS......................... 1.75
STOPS OF VARIOUS QUILLS...................... 2.50 Limited Edition......................... 15.00
* * * * *

CONTENTS
A MODEST LIKING FOR LIVERPOOL SOME MERITS OF MANCHESTER IN SMOKIEST SHEFFIELD NINE DAYS' WONDER IN YORK TWO YORKISH EPISODES A DAY AT DONCASTER AND AN HOUR OUT OF DURHAM THE MOTHER OF THE AMERICAN ATHENS ABERYSTWYTH, A WELSH WATERING-PLACE LLANDUDNO, ANOTHER WELSH WATERING-PLACE GLIMPSES OF ENGLISH CHARACTER
* * * * *

ILLUSTRATIONS
A VIEW OF MONK BAR ST. GEORGE'S HALL, LIVERPOOL THE WELLINGTON MONUMENT, LIVERPOOL THE LIVERPOOL DOCKS MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL TOWN HALL, MANCHESTER THE MANCHESTER SHIP-CANAL TOWN HALL, SHEFFIELD YORK MINSTER--THE GRANDEST IN ALL ENGLAND BOOTHAM BAR AND THE MINSTER WALMGATE BAR HAS A BARBICAN ST. MARY'S ABBEY CLIFFORD'S TOWER YORK AS SEEN FROM THE RIVER DURHAM CATHEDRAL--NORTHWEST VIEW FINCHALE PRIORY DURHAM CATHEDRAL--ITS MATCHLESS SEAT ON THE BLUFFS OF THE RIVER THE "STUMP" OF ST. BOTOLPH'S CHURCH AGAINST THE SKY THE WORTHY ANCESTRESS OF FANEUIL HALL AND QUINCY MARKET-PLACES THE RIVER AT EVENING LIFTING ITS TOWER FROM THE BRINK OF THE WITHAM FISHING-SHIPS AT GREAT GRIMSBY THE BEACH, ABERYSTWYTH ABERYSTWYTH FROM CRAIG GLAS ROCKS LLANDUDNO--THE CITY AND HARBOR LLANDUDNO FROM GREAT ORME'S NECK THE GREAT PIER, LLANDUDNO CONWAY CASTLE PLAS MAWR A PRESENTATION AT COURT THE ENGLISH HOUSEMAID LEADS A LIFE OF GAYETY ON THE SANDS
* * * * *

A MODEST LIKING FOR LIVERPOOL
Why should the proud stomach of American travel, much tossed in the transatlantic voyage, so instantly have itself carried from Liverpool to any point where trains will convey it? Liverpool is most worthy to be seen and known, and no one who looks up from the bacon and eggs of his first hotel breakfast after landing, and finds himself confronted by the coal-smoked Greek architecture of St. George's Hall, can deny that it is of a singularly noble presence. The city has moments of failing in the promise of this classic edifice, but every now and then it reverts to it, and reminds the traveller that he is in a great modern metropolis of commerce by many other noble edifices.
I
Liverpool does not remind him of this so much as the good and true Baedeker professes, in the dockside run on the overhead railway (as the place unambitiously calls its elevated road); but then, as I noted in my account of Southampton, docks have a fancy of taking themselves in, and eluding the tourist eye, and even when they "flank the Mersey for a distance of 6-7 M." they do not respond to American curiosity so frankly as could be wished. They are like other English things in that, however, and it must be said for them that when apparent they are sometimes unimpressive. From my own note-book, indeed, I find that I pretended to think them "wonderful and almost endless," and so I dare say they are. But they formed only a very perfunctory interest of our day at Liverpool, where we had come to meet, not to take, a steamer.
Our run from London, in the heart of June, was very quick and pleasant, through a neat