The Great House at Castle Hill is spectacularly sited on a bluff overlooking Crane's Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Built in the early part of this century, it is an exceedingly appropriate place for an exhibit of Pre-World War II cars.

Strolling its lawns, scattered with the automotive treasures of the Twentieth Century, I swear I felt the mansion smiling. It seemed pleased with all its visitors, human and mechanical.

To my way of thinking, houses -- no matter how lavish -- are meant to be occupied, and cars -- no matter how valuable -- are meant to be driven. I believe they have souls that come to life only when humans are present walking their floors and igniting their engines.

At Castle Hill that Sunday, there was a rejoicing of souls, nonhuman and human. The people who gathered there knew they were in the presence of some very special spirits.

It was a picture-perfect day. The polished painted surfaces of the cars, gleaming in the sunlight, were positively glorious. Everywhere there were remarkable motorcars settled on the lawns like sculpted metal masterpieces, surrounding equally magnificent engines. And with the turn of a key, there was power and purpose as well as beauty.

Repeatedly, I was taken by the sounds of sudden exclamations, as spectators came upon one exquisite car after another. Each gasp gave further evidence of the illogical bond that has grown between certain members of the human species and automobiles, the engine-driven mechanisms meant originally merely to transport humans from place to place.

In many ways, the unprecedented progress of the Twentieth Century is a tribute to the interaction of humans and their beloved engines, no matter the fuel propelling them, nor the material surrounding them. The triumphs and improvements of these last 100 years, as well as the failures and terrors, were catapulted by the easy movement of humans from place to place, made possible only by engines.

More than ever before, during the last ten decades, quick and efficient transportation furnished by engines of all kinds brought cultures to clash with, and learn from, other cultures. Engines brought brilliant minds to collaborate with brilliant minds, to produce the innovations of the Century. In the past hundred years, engines allowed people to access with incredible ease the knowledge of the ages, not as an exception but as a rule. What wonders engines helped create; what horrors they helped develop.

On September 19, the Atlantic Ocean -- first traversed by the muscles of men, then by the whims of the wind, and finally by engines -- was a fitting canvas upon which the Great House at Castle Hill and the victors of the automotive age were painted to present a picturesque Concours d'Elegance.

All day, the cars and the Great House greedily absorbed the adulation heaped upon them. As for me, I wanted everything I saw, the House, its grounds, and especially the cars, none of which is possible, of course.