I
inquired why she and her companions were there, and she said they were
waiting for the sacrament. So I thanked her, gave her a sixpence, and
departed. Close under the eaves, I saw two upright stones, in memory of
two old servants of the Stanley family,--one over ninety, and the other
over eighty years of age.
August 12th.--J----- and I went to Birkenhead Park yesterday. There is a
large ornamental gateway to the Park, and the grounds within are neatly
laid out, with borders of shrubbery. There is a sheet of water, with
swans and other aquatic fowl, which swim about, and are fed with dainties
by the visitors. Nothing can be more beautiful than a swan. It is the
ideal of a goose,--a goose beautified and beatified. There were not a
great many visitors, but some children were dancing on the green, and a
few lover-like people straying about. I think the English behave better
than the Americans at similar places.
There was a camera-obscure, very wretchedly indistinct. At the
refreshment-room were ginger-beer and British wines.
August 21st.--I was in the Crown Court on Saturday, sitting in the
sheriff's seat. The judge was Baron ------, an old gentleman of sixty,
with very large, long features. His wig helped him to look like some
strange kind of animal,--very queer, but yet with a sagacious, and, on
the whole, beneficent aspect. During the session some mischievous young
barrister occupied himself with sketching the judge in pencil; and, being
handed about, it found its way to me.
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