d contains a peal of thirteen small bells. A carillon is rung every
Sunday and Wednesday; I have not heard it, but have been told that it
sounds "like sheep-bells."

[Illustration: _Tongham Church, with Wooden Tower for Bells._]

Not much can have been written about the older days of Tongham, but at
least one delightful passage in a modern book belongs to it, and should
be read under the great elms by the roadside. In Mr. George Bourne's
_Memoirs of a Surrey Labourer_, Bettesworth describes an almost
incredible feat of carting timber:--

"I see a carter once," said Bettesworth, "get three big elm-trees up
on to a timber-carriage, with only hisself and the hosses. He put
the runnin' chains on and all hisself."

"And _that_ takes some doing," I said.

"Yes, a man got to understand the way 'tis done ... I never had
much hand in timber-cartin' myself; but this man.... 'Twas over
there on the Hog's Back, not far from Tongham Station. We all went
out for to see 'n do it--'cause 'twas in the dinner-time he come,
and we never believed he'd do it single-handed. The farmer says to
'n, 'You'll never get they up by yourself.' 'I dessay I shall,' he
says; and so he did, too. Three great elm-trees upon that one
carriage.... Well, he had a four-hoss team, so that'll tell ye what
'twas. They _was_ some hosses, too. Ordinary farm hosses wouldn't
ha' done it. But he only jest had to speak, and you'd see they
watchin' him.... When he went forward, after he'd got the trees up,
to see what sort of a road he'd got for gettin' out, they stood
there with their heads stretched out and their ears for'ard. 'Come
on,' he says, and _away_ they went, _tearin'_ away. Left great ruts
in the road where the wheels sent in--that'll show ye they got
something to pull."

We got one shrub a little further, Bettesworth grunting to a heavy
lift; then, in answer to a question:

"No, none o' we helped 'n. We was only gone out to see 'n do it. He
never wanted no help. He didn't say much; only 'Git back,' or 'Git
up,' to the hosses. When it come to gettin' the last tree up, on top
o' t'other two, I never thought he could ha' done it. But he got 'n
up. And he was a oldish man, too: sixty, I dessay he was. But he
jest spoke to the hosses. Never used no whip 'xcept jest to guide
'em. Didn't the old farmer go on at his own men, too! 'You dam