The line from Plymouth to Truro crosses the fine estuary of the Tamar upon the Albert Bridge, one of Brunel's triumphs, and runs along the northern bank of the river Lynher. Almost at the head of the river is St. Germans, where, for those who can spare the time, a stay of a few hours may be profitably made. According to tradition it derives its name from St. Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, who visited Britain in 429, and again in 447. From 850 to 1049 the town was the seat of the bishopric of Cornwall, which was afterwards incorporated in the see of Devon. The church is a good one with an ancient porch highly enriched with carvings and traceries. The greater part of the present building dates from 1261, and it occupies the site of the ancient Cornish cathedral. [Illustration: TRURO CATHEDRAL FROM THE RIVER] The fine ancestral home of Port Eliot, the residence of Lord St. Germans, was formerly called Porth Prior, from an Anglo-Saxon religious house granted to Richard Eliot in 1565, but of this original building no trace whatever remains above the ground. Within the house are some good portraits of the Eliots, including a large number by Sir Joshua Reynolds. From St. Germans our journey lies through pleasant vales and wooded hills to Liskeard, a quiet little market town situated partly on the slope of a steep hill, and partly in a valley traversed by the Looe and Liskeard Canal. The district abounds in mysterious piles of rock such as the Trethevy Stone, and the Hurlers; while the student of folklore will not fail to be attracted by the sacred wells of St. Keyne and St. Cleer. The latter was used formerly as a Bowssening Pool, and held in great repute for its efficacy in restoring the insane to "mens sana in corpore sano". Not far away is the interesting church of St. Neots', with a quantity of very fine mediaeval glass. The site of the old castle of Liskeard is preserved to some extent in a tree-planted public walk, while in the ancient Grammar School, "Peter Pindar" (Dr. Wolcot) and the learned Dean Prideaux received their education. St. Martin's Church has a set of curious gargoyles, while portions of a nunnery, dedicated to St. Clare, are said to have been built into the walls of one of the houses. In 1644, during the Civil War, Charles I was here, and again in the following year. From Liskeard, Looe may be reached either by rail, road, or canal. The road passes St. Keyne, where the waters of the well are said to possess a remarkable property, according to Thomas Fuller, who says, "whether husband or wife came first to drink thereof, they get the mastery thereby". The well has been immortalized in Southey's well-known ballad, _The Well of St. Keyne_. "A well there is in the west countrie, And a clearer one never was seen, There is not a wife in the west countrie But has heard of the well of St. Keyne."