us to come in, while she got breakfast for us.
"Squire," she said, "would be glad to hear what was going on; for he was
that given up to the soldiers we couldn't hardly believe." We were
shown down a long flagged corridor to a little cool room which looked as
though it had once been the abbot's cell. It had a window in it, looking
out upon a garden in full flower, a little rose garden, covered with
those lovely bushes of old English red single roses, the most beautiful
flower in the world. The window was large, but the space of it was
broken up by stone piers, so that no pane of glass was more than six
inches wide. I mention this now, because of what happened later. There
was not much furniture in the room; but what there was was very good.
There was an old Dutch pewter jug, full of sweet-williams, on the
table. On the wall' there was a picture of a Spanish gentleman on a
cream-coloured, fat handsome little horse. Together they looked very
like Don Quixote out for a ride with his squire. The two troopers left
me in this room, while they went off to the kitchen. Presently the
servant came in again, bringing me a noble dish of breakfast, a pigeon
pie, a ham, a jar of preserved quince, a honeycomb, a great household
loaf, newly baked, a big quart jug full of small beer. I made a very
honest meal. After eating, I examined the room. There was tapestry over
one part of the wall. It concealed a little low door which led to what
had once been the abbot's fishpond, now a roofed-in bath-house, where
one could plunge into eight feet or so of (bitterly cold) spring water.
This bath-house was some steps lower than the little dining room. It
was lighted by a skylight directly over the bath. It had no other window
whatever. After examining the bath, wishing that I had known of it
before eating, I went back to the dining room, where the servant was
clearing away the food.

"I hope you enjoyed your breakfast, sir," she said.

"Yes, thank you, very much indeed," I answered.

"Squire will be down d'reckly, sir," she said. "If you will please to
make yourself at home." I made myself at home, as she desired, while
she, after a few minutes, took away the soiled plates, leaving all the
other things on the side-board, ready for dinner. I noticed that she
smiled in a rather strange way as she drew to the door behind her.

I loitered away about half an hour, waiting for the squire to come. As
he did not come, I turned over the books on the s