As Mr. Geller points out, he is “generally considered to be the most knowledgeable scholar in the area of Old Colony studies, both in academic circles and without.” Arthur Lord is characterized as a gentleman historian who valued the physical artifact and also the literary qualities of color and interest in historical writing above technical professionalism. One of the dramatic achievements in his collecting was a copy of William Lambard’s _Eirenarcha or of the Office of the Justices of Peace in Foure Books_, London, 1592, one volume, and his identifying the volume as a copy from the library of William Cecil, Lord Burghley.[37] It originally belonged to Sir William Cecil who was created Baron Burghley by Queen Elizabeth in 1571 and made a Privy Councilor. Cecil had previously been Secretary of State under Edward VI. The book bears the Burghley coat of arms on the cover, surrounded by the Order of the Garter. It was given to and brought over on the _Mayflower_ by William Brewster. It was the only written guide for a system of law and justice in the colony from its beginning and had a tremendous influence setting precedents for the administration of justice henceforth in the Colony.[38] The _Eirenarcha_ had been handed down by each Justice of the Peace to his successor. As Arthur Lord was the last Justice of the Peace in Plymouth, the book was in the collection he left to Pilgrim Hall. There is now in Pilgrim Hall a stone pestle and axehead given to Arthur Lord by the Wampanoag Indians before 1900, in appreciation for legal advice he gave them. John Lord has told me that he remembers being with his father when, having been the last Justice of the Peace in Plymouth, he thought he should dispose of the sealing implement of that office and did so by hurling it into the deep water of South Pond. This action made a dramatic moment ending a long historical legal era, back to the days of Elizabethan Lord Burghley. CHAPTER XV. THE DWELLING HOUSE The area around the house and barn had been cleared for farming and other uses, totaling perhaps twelve acres. The contour of this land is relatively flat, a somewhat rare occurrence here, and possibly a major reason for its selection for a farm and dwelling. Initially such clearing was backbreaking work requiring many years, using the stump burning methods and removal by oxen if available, or planting around the stumps which would eventually rot. Most of this land today except for four or five acres around the house has reverted to forest and high white pine trees. I have some photographs taken perhaps a hundred years ago which show open fields with crops at that time. From about 1870 on it is evident that farming came to a gradual halt.