New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-09-09
on THE TRENT.
The Nil on the FloSs-Glim pSes Of
Puritan England.
Gainsborough. August 81.

~ the heroic Saxon King who found his Queen
among the Lincoln fens and wolds: and scores
81 rosusnces can be staged for the old baronial
manor house in Gainsborough; but Maggie Tul-
ever IS the ghostly figure that haunts forever
tbe grassy holiows and swollen currents Of this
+ranouu English plain. For the Floss is surely
the Trent hurrying on between green banks TO
tho sea. and the loving tide, rushing TO meet
a. checks it's passage with an iTnpetuous en-
brace" The current is now fun and strong
from the continuous autumn rains. and the
fsrrzrnen need 20 row vigorously IN making
$40 massage from bank 10 bank; and they speak
es-rus7lv OF the daily tidal wave as our
r,srf--" and unconsciously render tribute 70 the
eoandinavian sea kings and corsaiTs who raw
seed the villages Of the Trent centuries ago. The
Trent is The Floss and Gainsborough is St
c,rgs. The town lies between the river and the
low hU where Roman lsgions were encamped.
and the Danes came up from the mouth Of the
Humber 20 pfIage and devastate. Il still shows
SIS aged huted red roofs ana the broad gables
~ its v-harves on the brink OF the river; and
n the brick tenement houses in the factory quar-
..- have not vet acquired a mellow aspect the
ola riverside manor house. where Maggie Tulli-
,e- had her social triumph IN the charity bazaar.
remains quaint and picturesque with its half
,irnbered body its oak rooted hall. its stone
orie, ana its Gothic facade. The church with
a. ancient belfry can readily be found; the
rosl snd lumber barges arc stin passing UP
s-d down the river; and the sacks Of oil bear
ing seed from Russia are heaped upon the worm
eaten vha~ves II is stin "fne old red ST.
ocesr: but where is the Ripple with Dorloote
MN sheltered by eluas and chestnuts:
The sentimental rambler who attempts 20 md
local color for George Eliot's pathetic story
vii not 60 up stream from Gainsborough to-
ward TorlCsey On search Of The half timbered
stone mill Oh the Flost. When the food came
Maggie Tulliver was in 81. ogys. az Bob"
Jskins house on the river; and when she was
turned sdrilt IN her boat she was carried down
with the wreckage Of the wharves below the
-ov-n 10 the Ripple. where she rescued her
brother from Dorlcoie. and then persisted with
rfr, ouposite ''Tofton" The Ripple was q few
miles below St. Oggs. OF the opposite bank OF
the Floss. ana the Tullvers, when they rode
from the mill into town, would cross the river
by the great stone bridge. and occasionally meet
the Laceham or LanCham stage. The literary
plgrinn's way leads out Of Gainsborough north
ward 10 Stockwith. where the river Idle enpties
into the Trent II Is delightful riverside stroll
over fields and pastures which would he flooded
every year IL unprotected by a solid eInbank-
rnent on the edge of the picturesque village
II Morton there is a cottage which might have
yer found a temporary refuge when her brother
turned her out OF Dorlcote: and on the opposite
bank there are oiumps OF willows and frs and
matches Of dark earth which vaguely suggest
the Red Deeps, the lovers trysting place, al
though there is no leaning ash. At Walkerith,
which may easily be Identified with Luckrcth
where Stephen Guest and Maggie ought TO have
eft their boat and walked back 90 St oggs,
there is q ferry between two stone Lodges; and
from the farther bank It is a short stroll to
fhe Idle The stone bridge is IN the right place.
but alaok. the Ripple has neither low placid
voice nor a lively current. There are many
esotc-ies with tail chinTneys along the Trent at
s,oclv-ith but coal r. burned in the furnaces
ana shere are no waterv-heels sending out dia-
mord iets of water among the dipping willows
The romantic min on the Flose, with its stone
foundations its haf-timbered sides. Sc at
inosphere Of white powder and its screen OF
rhestnuts aud elms has appeared: and the
Ripple Itself has shTunk IN volume even I'm
rainy season and lost its sweet, musical voice.
ar. Tulllvers apprehensions respecting the
devastating march Of modern Improvement have
been justified He found il difficult 20 maintain
m adequate supply Of water for turning the
wheel o. the ancestral mill: and when Farmer
Piyart bought farms on the upper course Of the
Ripple and began 10 construct irrigation trenches
seg-defencc. and was beaten in the courts OF
Lindum or lincoln The reclamation Of the
district between the Trent and the Ouse has
heen effected through irrigation works and
varying drains on a large scale. The farms
On either side OF the Idle and the main drain
age canal are inclosed. muddy water is let In
from the tidal noodgates; the warp is de-
posted IN thick layers. which are subsequently
Cultivated, and the water is drawn OF a. the
etb when the river is low. These operations.
which have converted the Isle OF Axhome-the
scene OF the mysterious romance. The Manu-
script Of the Red Box"--into one Of the most
fertile gardens in England. have deprived the
Ripple Of water power Tor milling and reduced
t 10 The low level Of an irrigation base. The
mills or the Floss are now factories. coated with
tnudge from high smokestacks- The coal
asrges and sloops freighted with oil bearing seed
IRON Egypt and the Lesant sEe u1loaded from
me Trent and the produce Is carried away by
ne railway sidings. Not one OF these dingy Gin
Ger mills suggests the Dorlcote % the TuIlivers:
snd the Ripple Itself has been stripped OF fits
projecting LEAKAGE and converted into a stag
fsnt warpng drain. The wide. wind swept
Plain through which the Trent with broadening
current hurries 10 meet the embrace Of the tide
remains With this the sentimental traveller
must he content; and II he fingers until twi-
---N -t an fancy AflaA ne StCe AT AAN NN4ttAN
mist brother and sister locked ia . anal embrace
and punging helplessy into the flood.
Yet 80 vital q figure is George Eliots heroine
That she imparts romantic interest 10 one Of the
culcst among English factory towns and one
r the barest and most sornbre river reaches.
me Old baTonial manor house IN GainsboroUgh
vas baill and rebuilt during the Wars OF the
hoses; there aIe fragments Of black and white
rescoes or the walls and there is arm IN
amor with spray % roses IN he chimney