spindle-tree, described by Lord Tennyson as "the fruit which in our
winter woodland looks a flower."

As the road continually winds in its upward progress, and as no part
within view extends beyond a few hundred yards before it turns again,
the limit of perspective is frequently arrested by a number of evergreen
arches. It was a Devonshire lane, so to speak, in a state of
cultivation. Of course in the early spring, the delicacy of the fresh
green foliage would give another picture; and again the autumnal tints
would present a totally different effect under the influence of the rich
colouring of decaying vegetation.

No wonder Dickens and his friends had such admiration for this walk, the
last, by the way, that he ever enjoyed, on Tuesday, 7th June, 1870, with
his sister-in-law, Miss Hogarth, the day before the fatal seizure. In a
letter written from Lausanne, so far back as the year 1846, he says:--

"Green woods and green shades about here are more like Cobham, in Kent,
than anything we dream of at the foot of Alpine passes."

When we reach an elevation and are able to get an extended view of the
country we have traversed, a magnificent prospect of the Thames valley
on the west side, and of the Medway valley on the east, discloses
itself. On a bank in this lane we find a rather rare plant, the
long-stalked crane's-bill (_Geranium columbinum_), its rose-pink flowers
standing out like rubies among the green foliage. _Pteris aquilina_, the
common brake or bracken, is very luxuriant here; but we have met with
few ferns in the part of Kent which we visited. We were afterwards
informed that _asplenium_, _lastrea_, _scolopendrium_, and others are to
be found in the neighbourhood. We pass at Shorne Ridgway a village inn
with a curious sign, "Ye Olde See Ho Taverne." On inquiry, we learn that
"See Ho" is the sportsman's cry in coursing, when a hare appears in
sight.

The woods surrounding the entrance to the park are presently reached,
and here the vegetation, which in the lanes had been kept under, is
allowed to grow unchecked. At intervals walks (or "rides," as they are
called in some counties) are cut through the woods, the grass being well
mown underneath, and each of these walks is a shaded grove, losing
itself in the distance. The deep silence of the place is only broken by
the cooing of the wood-pigeon, and the occasional piercing note of the
green woodpecker. It is said that the nightingales appear here about the
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