lishman to
leave the "tight little island," with its trim beauty and proud
tradition, for the wild, unsubdued countries of the West. If loyal
Americans, as we can rightly claim to be, are so greatly charmed with
England, dear indeed it must be to those who can call it their native
land.

Winchelsea and Rye are typical of hundreds of decayed towns throughout
the Kingdom, though perhaps they are more interesting from an historic
standpoint than the others. Being so near the French coast, they
suffered terribly in the continual French and English wars and were
burned several times by the French in their descents upon the English
coast. It was nearly dark when we reached Rye; we had planned to stop
there, but the uninviting appearance of the hotel was a strong factor
in determining us to reach Tunbridge Wells, about thirty miles away.

We saw few more beautiful landscapes than those which stretched away
under the soft glow of the English twilight from the upland road leading
out of Rye. We did not have much leisure to contemplate the beauty of
the scene, but such a constant succession of delightful vistas as we
dashed along, together with the exhilaration of the fresh sea breeze,
forms a pleasing recollection that will not be easily effaced. The
twilight was beginning to fade away beneath the brilliancy of the full
moon when we ran into the village of Bodiam, where stands one of the
most perfect of the ancient castellated mansions to be found in the
Kingdom. We paused a few minutes to view it from a distance and found
ourselves directly in front of a neat-looking hotel--the Castle Inn. Its
inviting appearance, our desire to see the castle more closely, and the
fact that Tunbridge Wells was still a good many miles away over winding
roads liberally sprinkled with steep hills, led us to make Bodiam our
stopping place. There are few things that we have more reason for
rejoicing over, for we saw the gray walls and towers of Bodiam Castle
under the enchanting influence of a full, summer moon.

The castle was built in 1385 and appears to have been intended more as
a palatial residence than a feudal fortress. Its position is not a
strong one for defense, being situated on a level plain rather than upon
a commanding eminence, as is usually the case with fortified castles. It
was built after artillery had come into use, and the futility of
erecting a structure that would stand against this new engine of
destruction must have been