own. All but one of these houses have been taken
down, and the one that remains shows window-frames, doors, stairs, and
floors all made of thick and solid masses of timber, apparently
constructed to last for ages. A shield over one of the doors bears a
boar's head and three bulls' heads, having two winged bulls for
supporters and another bull for a crest. On other parts are emblems of
the slaughter-house, such as ropes, rings, and axes. Thus did our
English ancestors caricature the imaginary dignity of heraldry. This
attractive old house is a relic of the days of James I. Nell Gwynne was
born in Hereford, and the small cottage in Pipe Lane which was her
birthplace has only recently been pulled down. It was a little
four-roomed house, and an outhouse opening on the Wye, which was
standing in poor Nelly's days, remains. Hereford Cathedral is a fine
Norman structure, begun in the eleventh century and recently restored.
The most imposing portion of the interior is the north transept, which
was built to receive the shrine of Cantelupe. The remains of the Black
Friars' monastery are in the Widemarsh suburb. They consist chiefly of
an interesting relic of that religious order, an hexagonal
preaching-cross standing on a flight of steps and open on each side.
Hereford Castle has disappeared, but its site is an attractive public
walk overlooking the Wye, called the Castle Green.

[Illustration: OLD NAVE, HEREFORD CATHEDRAL.]

THE MAN OF ROSS.

[Illustration: ROSS BRIDGE.]

[Illustration: HOUSE OF THE "MAN OF ROSS."]

The Wye flows on through a fairly open valley, with broad meadows
extending from the bases of the wooded hills to the river. On
approaching Ross the meadows contract, the hills come nearer together,
and the new phase of scenery in the glen which here begins makes the Wye
the most beautiful among English rivers. Ross stands at the entrance to
the glen, built upon a sloping hill which descends steeply to the Wye.
It was the Ariconium of the Romans, and has been almost without stirring
history. It has grown in all these centuries to be a town of about four
thousand five hundred population, with considerable trade, being the
centre of a rich agricultural section, and is chiefly known to fame as
the home of Pope's "Man of Ross." This was John Kyrle, who was born at
the village of Dymock, not far away, May 22, 1637. He was educated at
Balliol College, Oxford, where they still preserve a piece of plate
which he pres