The Mayor of Altrincham, And the Mayor of Over-- The one is a thatcher, The other a dauber. [Illustration: MODERN GOTHIC: S. MARGARET'S, ALTRINCHAM] The work of the borough councils has become very heavy during the last fifty years. Gas, water, electricity, libraries, education, public health, baths, markets, and police, have their own special committees to look after them. The handsome Town Halls of Chester and Stockport, the latter opened only a few years since by the present King George the Fifth, had to be built to accommodate the small army of clerks who assist in the government of a great city. The reign of Queen Victoria was not all one of peace. The war with Russia, and the terrible mutiny of her Indian subjects with its tale of horrors and its glorious heroism, brought woe to many a home in Cheshire. The obelisk by the roadside between Aldford and Farndon reminds us that the soldiers of Cheshire were often called upon to fight our battles and too often find a grave in distant lands. Colonel Barnston, of Crewe Hill, to whose memory this monument was set up, fought at the siege of Sebastopol. In the Indian Mutiny he was wounded while gallantly leading an assault at the relief of Lucknow, and died of his wounds at Cawnpore. Numbers of memorial tablets in the Cathedral of Chester speak of the lives that were cheerfully laid down by Cheshire men in the service of their queen and country. Your fathers will tell you how bonfires were lighted on the beacons and hill-tops of Cheshire to celebrate the Jubilee or fiftieth year of the reign of Queen Victoria. Still greater was the rejoicing some ten years later, when she surpassed in length of reign all previous sovereigns of England. Nearly every town and village has some memorial of her: a cross in the village street, a drinking-fountain by the wayside, new bells for the parish church or a lich-gate for the churchyard, a village 'hall' or a public recreation ground, these are but a few examples that prove the love and reverence that Cheshire men and women felt for the great queen whose only thought was ever for the welfare of her people. Yet her last years were saddened by the long and costly war in South Africa, still unfinished when she died. The call to arms was once more heard from east to west of Cheshire; from town and country, 'reservists' who had thought to end their days in peace were sent oversea to defend the South African dominions of the queen. The brave 'Cheshires'--the fathers of some of you were among them--served throughout the war. A gallant Cheshire officer was one of the first to win distinction. Lieutenant Congreve, of Burton Hall, was one of three who volunteered to rescue the guns at the battle of Colenso. He was shot down in the attempt, but was able to crawl to a sheltered place, and lived to receive the reward that all soldiers strive to merit--the Victoria Cross. CHAPTER XXXV FAMOUS MEN AND WOMEN OF CHESHIRE