On the opposite side of the river are the Mill Gardens; and on the same side of the river and along its western circuit has been laid out a pretty Victoria Park, with its picturesque New River Walk. Still farther sylvan promenades are afforded by the Pump Room Gardens. The grounds are several acres in extent, and are beautifully laid out with ornamental flower–beds and winding paths; whilst on the side next to the parade is the famous Linden Avenue, three–quarters of a century old, and forming one of the finest shady promenades in Leamington, or indeed in any town of the Midlands. Of ancient public buildings Leamington has practically none, if one excepts the reconstructed and much altered Pump Room, once the scene of so much of the fashionable life of the town. [Illustration: BURTON DASSETT CHURCH.] None of the other public buildings, with the exception of the Town Hall, call for particular notice. There are not a few literary associations with Leamington, and the Holly Walk, which is a continuation of Regent Grove, a fine tree–lined avenue, will always possess an interest for lovers of Dickens from the fact that here the novelist laid the scene of the first meeting between Edith Granger and Mr. Carker in _Dombey and Son_. Scarcely a more picturesque spot than this walk, with its row of fine trees running down the centre, its grass plats, shady seats, and flower beds, could be found for a meeting of the kind. The old Bedford Hotel, which was the scene of one of the famous Jack Mytton’s most remarkable exploits, when for a wager he rode his mare upstairs into the dining–room, set her at the large table, which she cleared, jumping over the heads of his assembled friends, and then continued her course out of the balcony into the street below, has long disappeared; doubtless to the regret of all hunting folk and of the curious sightseer. Like Hawthorne, those who have visited Leamington carry away with them pleasant memories of a town which, although owing much to natural beauty of situation, yet owes also not a little to the intelligence and foresight of those responsible for its development, who may be said to have coaxed rather than coerced Nature in their efforts to make the spot one of uncommon rural and urban attractiveness, whilst still mindful of the demands of exigent moderns. CHAPTER VIII THE STORY OF BIRMINGHAM The city of Birmingham has been sung by a local poet as follows:— Illustrious off–spring of Vulcanic toil! Pride of the country! Glory of the Isle! Europe’s grand toy shop! arts’ exhaustive mine These, and more titles, Birmingham, are thine. From jealous fears, from chartered fetters free, Desponding genius finds a friend in thee; Thy soul as liberal as the breath of Spring, Cheers his faint heart and plumes his flagging wing. But, nevertheless, it presents more of a prosaic and commercial than a romantic attraction for a writer.