Beeston Castle is the name of a small railway station in the county of Cheshire. Nearby are gently rolling hills, outliers of the Welsh mountains. Here are found the remains of a fort built in Roman times: on the summit of a lofty crag are extensive remnants of stone footings and ruined walls. This is Beeston Castle. Facing the crag on which these ruins are is a ridge of folded hills, on one of which a new castle [Peckforton Castle] has been built as a residence by Mr. [John] Tollemache. The Tollemaches are an old and illustrious English family, a distinguished house (although not a titled one) renowned throughout Cheshire. Mr. Tollemache himself was a man of very high standing in the county. He had been returned to Parliament at no fewer than six general elections in succession, and had sat for thirty-one years. His reputation also stood high in Parliament, where he was, we were told, renowned as an orator whose like had not been seen in the history of the country. At the time of our visit he was over seventy years of age [actually, sixty-six], but as vigorous as a man in his fifties. It was because we had earlier received a kind invitation from this gentleman that we had made a special detour to come to stay at this splendid house.