The Weather.

There is no limit to what human beings may be driven to by stress of weather , and especially bv that " clearing shower " by which the dwellers in Lakeland are wont euphemistically to describe its continuous downpours . The Persians have another name for it—¦ " the grandmother of all buckets . " I was once in Wastdale with a dean of the Church of England , respectable , sedate , and a D . D . It had poured for days without ceasing ; the roads were under waterthe were impassablethe mountains invisiblethere was

, passes , ; nothing to be seen but waterfalls , and those in the wrong place ; there was no literature ; the dean ' s guide-books were exhausted , and his Bible , it is but charitable and reasonable to suppose , he knew by heart . As for me , I had found three tourists who could play at whist , and was comparatively independent of tho elements ; but that poor ecclesiastic ! For the first few days he occupied himself in remonstrating against our playing cards by daylight ; but on the fourth morning , when we sat down to them immediately after breakfast , he began to take an enforced interest in our proceedingsLike a dove above the dovecothe circled

. , for an hour or two about the table—a deal one , such as thimble-riggers use , borrowed under protest from his own humble bedroom—and then with a murmurous coo about tho weather showing no signs of clearing up , he took a hand . Constant dropping—and it was much worse than dropping—will wear away a stone , and it is my belief if it had gone on much longer his reverence would have played , on Sunday .

Jones declares that never again will he take his wife , and his wife ' s mother , and his wife ' s sister for an excursion unless he has fine weather , and for once he may be believed . Still , as everything has its " compensation " here , let us trust that many of us have been able to pass the long hours pleasantly enough ; and for some of us , perhaps , that enforced " juxtaposition " has led up to " souvenirs " which will be always precious , and associations , despite bad weather , nay , the worst of weather , which will be always agreeable .

The History Of Selby, Its Abbey, And Its Masonic Associations.

THE HISTORY OF SELBY , ITS ABBEY , AND ITS MASONIC ASSOCIATIONS .

( Concluded from page 111 . ) TN 1639 , at the commencement of the Civil Wars , on Wednesday in Easter -L week King Charles I . reviewed his troops at Selby ; ancl during the Civil Wars the town was occupied by both parties , ancl many sanguinary eim-ao-ements took place ; notably one on the 11 th April 1644 the town being theVheld b

, , y the Royalists , who where attacked by the two Fairfaxes in three places , a cavalry engagement taking place at the end of Ousegate , close to the station , under Sir Thomas Fairfax , the foot entering by Gowthorpe , which is at the other end of the town , the result being that the Royalists were defeated and compelled to retreat to York with a loss of 1600 men . This victory was the precursor of Marston Moor , and ended in the complete destruction of the Royalist power in the north of England .

In March , 1690 , the tower of the church fell , on the south side , of which accident you will see traces in the church . In 1774 the Aire and Calcler Canal was opened . In 1793 the Crescent ancl the streets , on the south of the town were built , and the market-place improved , and the market cross altered , but unfortunatel y these involved the destruction of the abbey gateway and other

remains of the monastery . In 1791 the bridge over the river was built in lieu of the existing ferry . In 1815 steam communication was established between York , ° Selby and Hull , but the tradehas gradually gone to Goole .