th and sprang among the fern, and was
seen only in glimpses as he passed between the beeches. Squirrels ran up
the trunks as they approached; they could see many on the ground in
among the trees, and passed under others on the branches high above
them. Woodpeckers flashed across the avenue.

Once Oliver pointed out the long, lean flank of a grey pig, or fern-hog,
as the animal rushed away among the brake. There were several glades,
from one of which they startled a few deer, whose tails only were seen
as they bounded into the underwood, but after the glades came the
beeches again. Beeches always form the most beautiful forest, beeches
and oak; and though nearing the end of their journey, they regretted
when they emerged from these trees and saw the castle before them.

The ground suddenly sloped down into a valley, beyond which rose the
Downs; the castle stood on a green isolated low hill, about half-way
across the vale. To the left a river wound past; to the right the beech
forest extended as far as the eye could see. The slope at their feet had
been cleared of all but a few hawthorn bushes. It was not enclosed, but
a neatherd was there with his cattle half a mile away, sitting himself
at the foot of a beech, while the cattle grazed below him.

Down in the valley the stockade began; it was not wide but long. The
enclosure extended on the left to the bank of the river, and two fields
on the other side of it. On the right it reached a mile and a half or
nearly, the whole of which was overlooked from the spot where they had
passed. Within the enclosures the corn crops were green and flourishing;
horses and cattle, ricks and various buildings, were scattered about it.
The town or cottages of the serfs were on the bank of the river
immediately beyond the castle. On the Downs, which rose a mile or more
on the other side of the castle, sheep were feeding; part of the ridge
was wooded and part open. Thus the cultivated and enclosed valley was
everywhere shut in with woods and hills.

The isolated round hill on which the castle stood was itself enclosed
with a second stockade; the edge of the brow above that again was
defended by a stout high wall of flints and mortar, crenellated at the
top. There were no towers or bastions. An old and ivy-grown building
stood inside the wall; it dated from the time of the ancients; it had
several gables, and was roofed with tiles. This was the dwelling-house.
The gardens were situated on t