en through the glass windows of huge pavilions or from the seats
of fashion-haunted promenades. Therefore the majority of Western
watering-places are not yet spoiled; their physical features have
often assisted to preserve them. They have not lost the quaint
simplicity of their parochialism, to become national if not
cosmopolitan. Constant intercourse with even the most sober of
visitors must take something from the provincialism, the cherished
traditions and local customs, the personal peculiarities and dialect.
But there is still a good deal left; there is still the possibility of
reaching Nature in her inmost sanctuaries, and at the same time
winning some of those elusive and shy confidences that are the charm
of locality.

[Illustration: LOOE.

_Photo by Gibson & Sons._]

In this sense Looe, or rather the two Looes, are purely delightful.
When we liken the place to Fowey or Dartmouth we must grant it the
advantages of being closer to the sea; it stands actually at the mouth
of its river, instead of retired within protecting sea-gates. To some
extent it has to submit to the tender mercies of the tripper, for
Plymouth steamboats are fond of bringing excursionists here; apart
from these invasions, the spot is as peaceful as could be desired
except by the veriest misanthropist. Approached by rail from Liskeard,
the journey is made in leisurely backward and forward stages, the
engine being reversed at times; so that passengers, who are requested
not to get out till "the train is at rest," sometimes imagine
themselves to be carried back to their point of departure. It is an
amusing little line, but it serves its purpose; and indeed has a
definite usefulness in reminding us that we have come away from bustle
and hurry to a region of placid leisure and quietness. Arrived at the
journey's end, one at first wonders how the people get in and out of
their houses, so higgledy-piggledy do they appear to be piled one on
top of the other; but the mystery may be solved by exploring the lanes
and allies. Deliveries of produce are still often made by panniered
donkeys, in quaint old-world fashion. There are two Looes, East and
West, and two rivers of the same name which meet above the bridge.
East Looe belongs to the parish of St. Martin's, and West Looe to that
of Talland; both were granted a corporation in the time of Elizabeth,
and each, before the Reform Bill, returned two representatives to
Parliament. The credit of having se