The Warrington Examiner. — 1874-10-10 (Warrington, Cheshire, England)

PICTURE OF LYMM.  The following article (the first of a series on the beautiful village of Lyuam) appeared in the last number of the "Congregational Magazine," which is published at Warrington, Lymm, Middlewich, and Over "Sweet Auburn loveliest village of the plain, Where health and plenty cheer'd the labouring swain.  Dell'. lovely bowers of innocence and ease, .  The never failing brook, the busy mill, The decent church that topt the neighbouring hill." We need hardly inform our readers that there is no connection whatever between the village of Lymm and the one which Goldsmith has immortalised iu such peerless and matchless verse. It is generally suppose I that Goldsmith had in his mind's eye when he penned the above lines an obscure village in Ireland, whereas "our village" is much nearer home—in fact, it is our home. We propose giving a few short sketches or word pictures of life as it is at present to be found in "our village," and, although it 'rust necessarily be very diffarent to that of " sweet Auburn," vet we shall find some points of resemblance between them. We can scarcely call ours— " Loveliest village of the plain," for of the two it is perhaps more plain than lovely. And there are few, if any, to be found now of those— " Dear lovely bowers of innocence and ease."  - --In no sense are the former plentiful we fear, although the modern villager knows how to take his ease. He's quite an adept at that. He generally makes the nearest public hulls, into his bower, and if occasionally his wife may bow her bead in shame over her husband's failings, it is very rare one finds the husband himself shedding tears of contrition for his own shortcomings. But, as the Scotch proverb says, " Gie the deil his due." We do not by any means wish to overlook the fact that our village contains a good many fine specimens of the "genus home "—men of whom we shall have occasion to speak hereafter in terms of unmeasured praise. Hard working, self denying, unselfish men, who have at their heart of hearts the good of their fellow-men.  But we are concerned chiefly at present with the general aspect of "our village," and in this psper we shall avoid particulars, and deal more in generalisation. Another point of comparison between "our Tillage" and "sweet Auburn" is "the busy mill," and we may also say the busy miller and his men, for it is difficult to conceive of one without the other. Then we have the mill-dam, which is quite large enough to be designated, and is frequently called, "the mere." And you may travel the county over and not find a prettier sheet of water. Irregular in shape, overhung with trees of splendid foliage on one side, and overlooked on the other by the  "Decent church which tops the hill," and undulating pastures and meadows, every villager in "our village' is proud of the dam. Then there is the walk along the dam side, a favoutite haunt, and much frequented on summer evenings both by young and old. Here is often to be found the angler, plying his lazy craft against the still more lazy and crafty fish. Between tne dam anl the mill is situated the dell or dingle, along which runs "the never failing brook." Here are some glorious old trees, chiefly horse chesnuts, which, when in full bloom, form a magnificent pioture, and which, in th 3 autumn, are the envy and desire of every passing school bo7. It is suite a fairy scene in the dingle—the rollicking, dashing overflow from the dam, the luxurious growth of the underwood, the bright green of the ferns and lichens, end the massive trunks of the tall poplars, all mingled together in apparently glorious confusion, present a picture of luauiiance and beauty such as is rarely found. And tower*og aloft aboNe all, in the very tops of the highest seen it sh he ehouses y of vreoroykps ,a avisvehrobs ay ts ceaseless, -8 home at night a ter them coming ltlrees se,s r, easrtol ets.os be wing a pretty *D expedition a good day's Pa-0g! g What the cause ;hetyheaornel or reason of all their caws we are not sufficiently versed sight to see ygleaxdptlaongateitonhtohmaet we in naturalcan(oheirstoz toteocakutTewt again. But we have another rookery in our village of a somewhat different nature. It is inhabited by the human species, this second rookery. Whence it has derived its title we do not know, unless it is from the old proverb—" Birds of a feather flock together." But this touches the soial aspect of "our village," and on this topic we shall have something to say hereafter. Nature has done much for "our village-" of that there is no doubt. Geologists tells us that it stands on the lower " keuper," to the development of which our county owes much of its fertility and agricultural celebrity. Originally, it appears we were washed over by a shallow sea, and traces of all sorts of extinct creatures are to be found embedded in the sandstone dug from our quarries. The ripple marks of the sea are actually to be found, if carefully searched for. But the nearest point of the sea, as the crow flies, is quite a d, zen miles or mora from us now.  - A tnoug the ii;.;e-s-to—n-ei-i-1;-orir-la--e.11;irch yard is to be found one, erected over the body of a suicide, and the slab is marked with the fossil foot prints of an exquet animal, the five toes of which resemble a human hand. There is a belief in the village that some mysterious conuection exists between the hand on the slab, and the deed of the unfortunate below who imbrued his. han,Ys in his own blood. Such lathe _ .  legend, and it is heightened by the blood•red colour of the imprint, caused by oxide of iron. Three hu.idred years ago such a tradition might have been gel ally believed, hut our knowledge of the earth's crust will easily explain the phenomenon for itself. Dm more we dipiuto the study of science of geology, the wore are we tempted to cry out—" Great and warvellous are Thy works, Lord God Alraig sty; in , wisdom bast Thou made them all,"