Going homeward, we went astray in a green lane, that terminated
in the midst of a field, without outlet, so that we had to retrace a good
many of our footsteps.
Close to the wall of the church, beside the door, there was an ancient
baptismal font of stone. In fact, it was a pile of roughly hewn stone
steps, five or six feet high, with a block of stone at the summit, in
which was a hollow about as big as a wash-bowl. It was full of
rainwater.
The church seems to be St. Andrew's Church, Lower Bebbington, built in
1100.
September 1st.--To-day we leave the Rock Ferry Hotel, where we have spent
nearly four weeks. It is a comfortable place, and we have had a good
table and have been kindly treated. We occupied a large parlor,
extending through the whole breadth of the house, with a bow-window,
looking towards Liverpool, and adown the intervening river, and to
Birkenhead, on the hither side. The river would be a pleasanter object,
if it were blue and transparent, instead of such a mud-puddly hue; also,
if it were always full to its brine; whereas it generally presents a
margin, and sometimes a very broad one, of glistening mud, with here and
there a small vessel aground on it.
Nevertheless, the parlor-window has given us a pretty good idea of the
nautical business of Liverpool; the constant objects being the little
black steamers puffing unquietly along, sometimes to our own ferry,
sometimes beyond it to Eastham, and sometimes towing a long string of
boats from Runcorn or otherwhere up the river, laden with goods, and
sometimes gallanting a tall ship in or out.
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