LESSON V

IN AND ABOUT GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

AFTER a good night's rest the Cartmells rose early to take a look about Glasgow, their first Scotch city, and after a delicious breakfast, which included hot scones and Scotch marmalade, hurried out-of-doors. The hotel, of whose situation they obtained but a slight knowledge the evening previous, was found to stand about midway between the old and the new city; the former sloping downward towards the

water-side in steep, narrow streets, lined with dull gray stone houses, and the latter rising through a handsome residential district, broken by pretty parks and gardens, to an emi

nence crowned by the magnificent pile of the University of Scotland.

Of course the older part claimed first attention, and a unanimous vote was given for a visit to the ancient cathedral as by far the most interesting of the public buildings. This was the first really historic foreign cathedral the children had seen; and they were much impressed, particularly George, who, seated on a stone tomb in the dim crypt beneath the church, read aloud from his pocket edition of Scott's "Rob Roy" the scene of the chieftain's appearance in the cathedral.

Coming out into the sunlit square once more, the party walked on for a while in silence, the spell of the place yet upon them. Even Nellie's busy tongue was idle. Glasgow, they soon saw, was not only a very large, but a very busy city, with many industries, and a decidedly wide-awake appearance. The shops vied with each other in attractiveness, particularly those displaying the rich and glowing Scotch plaid goods, and the jewellery set with amethysts, topazes, and other stones of which the Scotch make so much use. The prices, too, seemed much lower than in America; and this gave papa an opportunity to explain the questions of "free trade" and "protection," and how prices were affected thereby.

As Mrs. Cartmell and the girls were anxious to make some purchases, and also to see the Kelvingrove Park in the upper part of the town, it was arranged that papa and the boys should spend the time among some of the famous shipyards on the river-bank just below the city. They were fortunate in their visit.

"The word Clyde," said Mr. Cartmell, as they walked down into one of the building-yards, "is derived from the old Welsh word clyd, meaning warm or sheltered. The valley of the Clyde, or Clydesdale, was early celebrated for its crops, which ripened better than in other parts of Scotland. Along the banks in this vicinity the broom-plant was especially lux

uriant. The name is kept in the Broomielaw Bridge, which you saw in the city, one of the busiest centres in Glasgow. This is the same broom-plant, by the way, which the Romans called the planta genista, and from which the English race of Plantagenets took their name."

"The river was once very shallow, was it not?" asked George.

"Yes; I understand that within the memory of men now living, it was so small a stream at this point as to permit of wading across at low tide. Millions of pounds have been expended in deepening and widening the channel; and now, as you see, even large ocean liners can reach their piers at all but lowest water."

"How long has the Clyde been so famous for its shipbuilding?"

"Since the very earliest times," replied Mr. Cartmell.

"The river-bank is especially well adapted for this industry, being well sheltered, accessible, and with coal, iron, and wood close at hand. "Since the introduction of steam, yard after yard has been added, till now, as you see, they extend for miles. Our own Hudson saw the first steam-vessel, Fulton's Clermont, and the honor of the discovery has always been his. The Clyde, however, was the first European river on which the steamboat was used commercially. David Napier and James Watt, the inventors of the steain-engine, made all their early experiments here, and gained their celebrity largely in connection with the ship-building industry."

By this time the party had been joined by one of the foremen of the yard, who courteously offered them the privilege of inspecting one of the huge Atlantic liners which was nearly ready for launching. The noise of the busy steam-hammers at work on the giant hull made conversation next to impossi