Colonel Gunter who took
part in the escape of Charles II. Near by is Lordington House, erected
by the father of Cardinal Pole and said to be haunted by the ghost of
that Countess of Salisbury who, when an old woman upwards of seventy,
was beheaded by the order of Henry VIII, and caused the headman much
trouble by refusing to place her head upon the block; an illustration
by Cruickshank depicts the executioner chasing the Countess round the
platform.

[Illustration: THE WESTERN DOWNS.]

Several roads lead north through beautiful country, covered by lonely
and unfrequented woodlands, to the Mardens. West Marden is about five
miles from Emsworth and close to the Hampshire border; all the four
villages which bear this name are among the most primitive in southern
England. At North Marden is a plain unrestored Norman church, the only
one in the immediate vicinity which is worth a visit for its own sake.
Compton, a mile beyond West Marden, has a Transitional Norman church
partly rebuilt; this is close to Lady Holt Park, a favourite retreat of
Pope; and Up Park, a fine expanse of woodland, where the Carylls once
lived; their estates were forfeited for their championship of the
Stuarts. The northern end of the park rises to the edge of the Downs
close to Torberry Hill, the last summit in Sussex, though the traveller
who is so inclined may, with much advantage to himself, penetrate into
the lonely recesses of the Hampshire hills, sacred to the shade of
Gilbert White, and, still within the probable limits of the _ancient_
kingdom of Sussex, finish his travels at Butser Hill and Petersfield.

Butser Hill is 889 feet above the sea, and therefore higher than any
point of the range within Sussex. This well-known summit is familiar to
all travellers on the Portsmouth road, from which it rises with
imposing effect on the west of the pass beyond Petersfield. Here the
South Downs, so called, may be said to end. The chalk hills are
continued right across Hampshire, slowly diminishing in height until
they are lost in the great plateau of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.

[Illustration: HARTING.]

Between a fold of the hills lies picturesque Harting in a most
delightful situation; an ideal spot for a restful time away from
twentieth-century conditions. The tourist, if amenable to the simple
life, might well make a stay of a few days to explore the lovely
country of which this village forms the centre. The finely placed Early
English cru