he reclaimed estuary, which
ranks among the best-farmed and most productive districts in all
England, Yet till a very recent date the Thanet farmers still retained
the use of the old Kentish plough, the coulter of which is reversed at
the end of every furrow; and many other curious insular customs mark
off the agriculture of the island even now from that which prevails
over the rest of the country.

I don't know whether I'm wrong, but it often seems to me the very best
way to gain an idea of the real history of England is thus to take a
single district piecemeal, and trace out for one's self the main
features of its gradual evolution. By so doing we get away from mere
dynastic or political considerations, leave behind the bang of drums or
the blare of trumpets, and reach down to the living facts of common
human activity themselves--the realities of the workaday world of
toilers and spinners. By narrowing our field of view, in fact, we gain
a clearer picture on our smaller focus. We see how the big historical
revolutions actually affected the life of the people; and we trace more
readily the true nature of deep-reaching changes when we follow them
out in detail over a particular area.

A HILL-TOP STRONGHOLD.

'Why, what did they want to build a city right up here for, anyway?'
the pretty American asked, who had come with us to Fiesole, as we
rested, panting, after our long steep climb, on the cathedral platform.

Now the question was a pertinent and in its way a truly philosophical
one. Fiesole crests the ridge of a Tuscan hill, and in America they
don't build cities on hill-tops. You may search through the length and
breadth of the United States, from Maine to California, and I venture
to bet a modest dollar you won't find a single town perched anywhere in
a position at all resembling that of many a glowing Etrurian fastness,
that 'Like an eagle's nest Hangs on the crest Of purple Apennine.'
Towns in America stand all on the level: most of them are built by
harbours of sea or inland lake; or by navigable rivers; or at the
junction of railways; or at a point where cataracts (sadly debased)
supply ample water-power for saw-mills and factories; or else in the
immediate neighbourhood of coal, iron, oil wells, or gold and silver
mines. In short, the position of American towns bears always an
immediate and obvious reference to the wants and necessities of our
modern industrial and commercial sys