ite. The
ascent of the steep bank is rewarded on a clear day by the splendid
panorama which lies around. From the terrace walk we look down upon
the town, noticing with regret the predominating hues of brick and
slate which mark the modern suburbs; but the old tower, the churches,
and the gatehouse, despoiled but yet dignified, unconsciously hold
the eye. The old wall of the Abbey precincts ended here at the river,
and beside it runs Boat Lane, which would bring us out on the Green.

Looking down the stream, over the railway bridges, we see Green Hill,
with the Abbey Manor and its grounds the most prominent feature. At
some little distance to the right of the house is a grassy comb, and
at the upper end is the spring to which legend points as the spot
where Simon de Montfort was slain, and which still bears the name
Battlewell.

Stretched around us are the Cotswolds, and if we take a path, or lane,
leading over the hill westward we may, from the brow, behold Malvern's
rugged length and the isolated mass of Bredon. Further northward, if
the atmosphere be clear, we should distinguish the most striking
height of the Abberly range, a peak which on one side would almost
seem to overhang, and, away beyond, the Clee heights looking down on
the beautiful and historic town of Ludlow.

Returning to our boat, we glide beneath the Abbey Manor, with its
wooded slopes, and presently we reach Chadbury Lock and Mill. On a
fair and warm day we may rest here in perfect content, listening to
the rush of the weir, watching the swallows flit and skim over the
calm water and break the glassy surface into circling ripples; or
gazing with silent pleasure down the stream as it continues its
peaceful course by wood and meadow.

Not far below Chadbury, past Wood Norton--a country seat of the Duke
of Orleans, and by him lately rebuilt--its deer park and plantations,
past flowery banks, and thick beds of rushes haunted by waterfowl, is
the village of Fladbury. Pleasant-looking houses with trim gardens
border the river on our right, and beyond are two mills, with the
rushing weir between. That on our left is Cropthorne Mill, now a
dwelling-house.

In Fladbury Church are some coats-of-arms in stained glass, said to
have come from the Abbey of Evesham. One shield bears the device of
Earl Simon. There is also a fine altar tomb, inlaid with brasses,
bearing the effigies of some members of the Throckmorton family. The
building is architecturally i