ded laden, or descended light, they got so lost at
intervals in the floating clouds of village smoke, that they seemed to
dive down some of the village chimneys and come to the surface again far
off, high above others. No two houses in the village were alike in
chimney, size, shape, door, window, gable, roof-tree, anything. The
sides of the ladder were musical with water, running clear and bright.
The staves were musical with the clattering feet of the pack-horses and
pack-donkeys, and the voices of the fishermen urging them up mingled
with the voices of the fishermen's wives and their many children.... The
red-brown cliffs, richly wooded to their extremest verge, had their
softened and beautiful forms reflected in the bluest water, under the
clear North Devonshire sky of a November day without a cloud. The
village itself was so steeped in autumnal foliage, from the houses
joining on the pier to the topmost round of the topmost ladder, that one
might have fancied it was out a-bird's-nesting, and was (as indeed it
was) a wonderful climber.'

The harbour is very small, but on a cliff-bound, dangerous coast it is
one of the very few between Bideford and Padstow. Clovelly's great
herring fishery used to be famous, but it is not now so large as it used
to be.

Above the village, the beautiful park of Clovelly Court lies along the
cliffs, looking over the wide distances of Bideford Bay; and on a fine
day the Welsh coast may be seen. Inland, great forest trees tower above
a miniature forest of bracken, and at the opening of a glade one may
catch glimpses of the deer appearing and vanishing again.

The Carys were in very ancient days settled at St Giles-in-the-Heath,
but a branch of them came to Clovelly in the reign of Richard II. They
were of the same race as the Carys of Torre Abbey, and the family of
whom Lord Falkland is the head. John Cary, who acquired the property,
was a distinguished character. As a Judge, 'he scattered the rays of
justice about him, with great splendour.' He was called to show firmness
and loyalty under the most trying circumstances, but, 'true as steel ...
the greatest dangers could not affright him from his duty and loyalty
to his distressed master Richard II, unto whom he faithfully adhered
when most others had forsaken him.' When the King had been deposed,
'this reverend Judge, unable and unwilling to bow like a willow with
every blast of wind, did freely and confidently speak his mind.' So
fai