AUBURN REVISITED.
Every year I visit a Midland village that lurks in the deep, deep country, some nine miles from any effective railway station. The beauty of the place increases save that here and there tin or slate roofs supplant the thatch ; but each year some new sign appears of progressive deterioration in the social life. This year the school was closed for want of Children. The magnificent mediaeval church could hold a congregation of a thousand or two. It is a perfect example Of the great Miltonic line :
• " Bosomed high in tufted trees."
The surrounding glebe is lumpy with the grassed relics of old buildings ; and the tombstones within the church bear witness to the old importance of the place and the neighbour- hood of great houses. In their several ways school, rectory, .farmhouses and church are finely and luxuriously built. The manor farm with its rounded_chimneys and deep ingle- nooks is worth a special pilgrimage. The place might stand for Goldsmith's deserted village :
" Sweet auburn loveliest village of the lawn; Thy sports are fled and all thy charmi withdrawn."
That is to say if charms mean social charms. Youth has vanished. The whole population will soon not number a• hundred souls. The two thousand acres with houses and cottages have lost most of their value. It is reckoned (I
have given the figure before) that no one could be found to offer £5,000 for the lot if it were put up for sale.
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