"The Churchyard got so very full that it would'nt hold any more, and some poor things were afraid that their bones might get mixed, and wouldn't be sorted properly at last, so they opened a Cemetery in the North Marsh, where there was plenty of room. A much better plan, in my opinion, than giving up all the fine air on the hill to those who can't breathe! "But you must let me sit on the steps while I can tell you about Cain Barnes. You see, he was quite upset when they began to talk about making a Cemetery on the Hill. He thought it might spoil his business. So he asked a few of the Old Standards to come round and talk it over with him, and they sat one evening in his house smoking long churchwarden pipes, and drinking ale I think it was ale—and trying to see if they could'nt find some way to stop it. There was Cain, and Sammy Duckle, and Joe Hornby, and old Jerrems, and they talked, and talked, and could'nt get any forrader. So at last they made up their minds to go home separately, and make rhymes about it, for you see they knew that ridicule is sometimes better than argument! "Well! They went home, and the next Sunday afternoon, after Church, they met again, and each of them had brought his rhyme to read out. This was Sammy Duckle's : "Deep in the marshes Gainsburgh lies, By the Ægir's roaring tide! Only in death her sons shall rise To the glad and green Hill side!" "They did'nt think much of that, so Joe Hornby was invited to read his : "Gainsburgh! Thou Mother proud and harsh ! Thy sons shall love thee still; Though thou spread their couch in the foetid Marsh, "Old Jerrems called out at once that neither Sammy nor Joe knew anything about poetry, so they made him get up, and shew what sort of a poet he was himself. And Jerry, you know, was a great big fellow, and fancied himself a good deal, so he stood up just as if he were going to run in some mischievous lad on a Market Day: "Sons of Ægir! Sons of Ægir ! Why so meek and patient still? To Death your glorious Hill?” "They talked over Jerrems' poem for ever so long, but they all agreed that it was no use to put it in the " NEWS," for the people wouldn't know what it was about. So then they called on Cain, to see what he could do, and Cain got up, just as if he was saying the answers to the Commandments, and read out his rhyme from a piece of crumpled paper: "After all, they didn't really think much of any of the rhymes, but when they shewed them to the Vicar, he said "Well, Cain, at any rate you shall lie in the old Parish Churchyard!" And he was as good as his word, for there you may see, is his stone, just between the Church and the road. He was sexton for 50 years. "The old Vicarage, close to the Church, was built about 1697, but Mr. Urquhart added an upper storey. When Mr. Clements came it wasn't good enough, so he built a new one in the fields. Now the John Robinson Memorial stands there. "The Old Hall is changed a good deal. Miss Hickman used to let poor families live there rent free, and the dining hall was at one time used as a Theatre, and afterwards as a carpenter's shop. The big bazaar for building the Church Street schools was held there, as you may read in "The Mill on the Floss." There were large gardens, surrounded by a wall, but the moat was dry, and nearly filled up. "The Corn Market was held in Silver Street, in the open air, and was formerly attended by quite a hundred merchants, whose dealings came to 50,000 or 60,000 quarters a year. "The Statute Fairs were a wonderful sight. You might have walked across the Market Piace over the heads of the farm lads who came to be hired, not to speak of the lasses. Poor things, they used to pinch their arms, to see if they were strong enough to do the milking! "The Ship Yards used to be a great feature of Gainsburgh in my young days, and a launch caused much excitement. When the Mary Thompson left the stocks she struck the opposite bank. People thought it a bad omen, and sure enough, she was lost on her first voyage. Smith built many iron vessels for the Packet Company, and Furley was also a great builder. The Columbine, the Sheffield, and the Isle of Axholme were born in Gainsburgh. "The Oil Mills gave employment to many. Borwell's Mill above the Grammar School was the first one used for crushing linseed, but it was afterwards used for corn. Sooby and Mercer's Mill was the first to use hydraulic pressure. Others were the Ashcroft Mill of Messrs. Torr and Co., and Mr W. L. Sharp's Mill. Metcalfe's Mill was on the Nottingham bank of the river, opposite Lord Street, Maw's Mustard Mill was at Crow Garth, and Rook's Windmill was by Cedar Cottage. The noise of the stampers in the oil mills could be heard a long way off, and their vibration was felt for a considerable distance. In Adam Stark's time about 7000 tons of cake and 2000 tons of seed oil were manufactured in Gainsburgh, and it was said that one eighth of all the linseed imported into England found its way up the Trent. "The Union Workhouse was built in 1837, the first master and matron being Mr. and Mrs. Peter Johnson, who were followed in 1844 by Mr. George Crookes and Miss Bowers. Crookes, a kindhearted man, kept bees, and was famous for his roses. Mr. and Mrs. Warr came in 1883 or 1884. Lord Panmure gave the Russian gun, from Sebastopol, in 1857. Returning into the town, you came to the Spa, in Rook's garden, a low brick building, with a dwelling attached. The waters, strongly charged with gypsum, were considered valuable for rheumatism, and people bottled them for weak eyes. In the Eighteenth Century a ghastly crime had been committed near this spot, and the body of the murdered man was thrown into the bath. The Albert Hall, built by Messrs. Thompson and Fox, stands almost on the site of the Spa. "At Southolme there was a well known farm, with a fine pond. The Ivy Hall, a very ancient building, was close by. "A century ago all the ground now occupied by Spring Gardens and Spital Terrace was occupied by a farm called Foulston's Close, the farm house itself facing the Beast Market or Market Street. "The Lay Rectory, off Spital Road, was where the Bishop's Agent lived. The house was eventually sold, and was at one time held by a Roman Catholic sisterhood, who carried on a school. It was pulled down in 1898, but you see its memory is still preserved in Rectory Avenue. "The Gas Works were built by Mr. John Malam in 1826, and the Urban District Council bought them in 1900.” We have strolled up and down the town, and it would be unkind to expect the Oldest Inhabitant to go any further with us. Before long he will take another journey, in which we shall not be able to accompany him, though we may follow him when our turn comes. CHAPTER XX. PROGRESS OF THE CENTURY.-SILVER TOKENS. THE WATER SUPPLY. THE PORT.-THE FAIR.-THE MARTS. PROGRESS OF THE CENTURY. URING the first half of the Nineteenth Century Gainsburgh appears to have gradually progressed with the increasing prosperity of the country. We have examined the decennial Census Reports with some care, but find that some of our figures are not quite the same as those of Stark, a variation which is probably accounted for by a difference in the method of calculation. We believe the following to be correct: In 1801 Population 4506. In 1861 Population 7889. The River was still difficult to keep under proper control. There had been floods in 1770 and in 1795, and these were repeated in 1809, 1812, and 1822, as well as in later times. During several severe winters communication between Gainsburgh and other towns was interrupted by snow, and much distress ensued. There were also storms of wind and of thunder, and serious fires occured now and then. But the gradual replacement of the old and mean cottages by houses better calculated to |