ted. The name of this interesting town is said to be
derived from Beaver Lake, the site having at one time been surrounded by
lakes that were formed by the overflowing of the Humber, in which
beavers lived in great numbers. The Beverley Minster is an attractive
Gothic church, and from the tops of its towers there is an excellent
view over the rich and almost level valley through which the Hull River
flows. Leconfield Castle, in the suburbs, was an ancient residence of
the Percys, of which the moat alone remains.

[Illustration: MARKET-SQUARE, BEVERLEY.]

SHEFFIELD.

[Illustration: MANOR-HOUSE, SHEFFIELD.]

Let us now ascend the estuary of the Humber, and, proceeding up its
numerous tributaries, seek out various places of interest in the West
Riding of Yorkshire. And first, ascending the river Don, we come to that
great manufacturing centre of the "Black Country," sacred to coal and
iron, Sheffield. Murray's _Guide_ tells us that while Sheffield is one
of the largest and most important towns in Yorkshire, it is "beyond all
question the blackest, dirtiest, and least respectable." Horace Walpole
in the last century wrote that Sheffield is "one of the foulest towns in
England in the most charming situation." It is a crowded city, with
narrow and badly-arranged streets, having few handsome public buildings,
but bristling with countless tall chimneys belching forth clouds of
heavy smoke that hang like a pall over the place. The Don and its
tributaries have their beds defiled, and altogether the smoky city is in
unpleasant contrast with the beauty of the surrounding country. But,
unfortunately, an omelette cannot be made without breaking eggs, nor can
Sheffield make cutlery without smoke and bad odors, all of which have
amazingly multiplied within the present century, its population having
grown from forty-five thousand in 1801 to over three hundred thousand
now. It stands at the confluence of the rivers Don and Sheaf, its name
being connected with the latter. Three smaller streams join them within
the city and are utilized for water-power. The factories spread over the
lowlands of the Don valley, and mount up its western slopes towards the
moorlands that stretch away to Derbyshire; it is therefore as hilly as
it is grimy. Sheffield at the time of the Norman Conquest was the manor
of Hallam, which has passed through various families, until, in the
seventeenth century, it became by marriage the property of the Duke of
Nor