THE NORTHCROFT LILIES.

 "Oh, dear, yes, how horrid! and look at those
pollard willows," as they went swiftly by long rows
of dismal-looking stunted trees.
 This is nothing to what it was on Friday. It
poured with rain all the time, and looked dreary
enough."
 "And yet you like it; oh, papa "
 "Not this, Gertrude, but wait till to-morrow.
Northcroft is not like Uncle Fred's, but it's very
bearable."
 Ah, there is Boston Church," said Mrs. Layton,
as the beautiful tower rose before them.
 That is used as a beacon for ships at sea,"
quoted Gertrude from her beloved Geography.
 Was used," interrupted an old gentleman, who
filled the only place in the carriage the Laytons did
not occupy. "The lantern is never used for that
purpose now, but the iron which held the lamp is
inside still."
 It is a noble church," remarked Mr. Layton, for
Gertrude was slightly abashed.
 The queen of parish churches I call it, but the
southern part of this county abounds in fine churches;
it speaks well for the devotion of the people in old
times, for all the stone had to come from a great
distance."
 The sky looks lovely through the windows,"
said Effie.
 Yes," said the old gentleman, "but three miles
off I have seen the sunset clouds through them, and
that was better still."
 That is Tattershall Castle," he said, as they
passed a massive red-brick, turreted building, with
a fair background of trees, and a church close by.
 It is flat enough still," said Gertrude privately