s now. Not only were more souls crowded into the old houses still
standing in the village street but tradition tells that the place was
larger and more suited to its spacious old church which is now barely
half filled on an ordinary Sunday.

A footpath may be taken over the Cuckmere and up the hill beyond to the
little dependency of Lullington. The church calls itself the smallest
in Sussex but this depends upon what constitutes a church. The existing
building is actually the chancel of a former church, perhaps another
proof of a dwindling population.

[Illustration: LULLINGTON CHURCH.]

The winding lane on the eastern bank of the Cuckmere is thick with a
glaring white dust on the dry days of summer, but there is no other
practicable route to Litlington; where is a quaint and interesting old
church with arches formed of the native chalk. This village is growing
rather than decaying, and appears to be, in a small way, an asylum for
those who have grown weary of the broader highways. It is in a most
delightful situation and is even within reach of a morning dip in the
sea for those vigorous enough to undertake a three mile walk each way.
"Tea" placards nestling among the roses and ivy on the cottage walls
also testify its attractions to holiday wayfarers, though the way to
Litlington, even for the motor-cyclist, is too strenuous for the
village to become overcrowded or vulgar.

[Illustration: LITLINGTON.]

The Cuckmere now begins to widen its banks and the theory that the
waters once extended from side to side of the valley seems tenable as
we view the wide expanse of sedgy swamp through which the present
channel has been artificially cut. Cuckmere Haven is the name given to
the bay between the last of the "Seven Sisters" and the eastern slopes
of Seaford Head which should be ascended for the sake of the lovely
view up the valley, seen at its best from this end.

"The only light that suits the tranquillity and tender pathos of the
region is that which fills the dimples of the Downs with inexpressibly
soft and dreamy expressions, and quickens the plain by revealing the
individuality of every blade of grass and plough-turned clod by its own
shadow."

(Coventry Patmore.)

Nearly all the villages of the Cuckmere are in sight and make together
perhaps the most likely to be remembered of Sussex pictures. It is
surprising how little this tranquil vale is known except to the chance
visitor from Seaford. When one remembe