nd stone, as they used to be, but not as they are at present; therefore
I must tell you. The wall at the bottom of the little Dial-court, where
there used to be a sweet-briar hedge to come through, is entirely gone,
either tumbled down or knocked down--the latter I believe to be the
true reason of it. Also, instead of sweet-briar, there is now a very
flourishing crop of sting-nettles. But the wall at the side of the
little court stands almost as sound as ever; and what surprised me most
was to see, when I got further, proceeding of course very quietly, that
the large court beyond (which used to be the servants' yard, and the
drying-ground, and general lounging-place) had a timber floor laid down
it, with a rope on either side, a long heavy rope on either side;
and these ropes were still quivering, as if from a heavy strain just
loosened. All this I could see, because the high door with the spikes,
that used to part the Dial-court from this place of common business, was
fallen forward from its upper hinge, and splayed out so that I could put
my fist through.

"By this time I had quite recovered all my self-command, and was as calm
as I am now, or even calmer, because I was under that reaction which
ensues when a sensible man has made a fool of himself. I perceived,
without thinking, that the sound which had so scared me proceeded from
this gangway, or timberway, or staging, or whatever may be the right
word for it; and I made up my mind to stay where I was, only stooping a
little with my body towards the wall, to get some idea of what might be
going forward. And then I heard a sort of small hubbub of voices, such
as foreigners make when they are ordered to keep quiet, and have to
carry on a struggle with their noisy nature.

"This was enough to settle my decision not to budge an inch, until
I knew what they were up to. I could not see round the corner,
mind--though ladies seem capable of doing that, Maria--and so these
fellows, who seemed to be in two lots, some at the top and some at the
bottom of the plankway, were entirely out of my sight as yet, though I
had a good view of their sliding-plane. But presently the ropes began to
strain and creak, drawn taut--as our fishermen express it--either
from the upper or the lower end, and I saw three barrels come sliding
down--sliding, not rolling (you must understand), and not as a brewer
delivers beer into a cellar. These passed by me; and after a little
while there came agai