throughout. It has a very well carved course of
panelling all round the top, and this is surmounted by an
elaborate cornice. The stone mantelpiece is remarkably fine and of
unusual character. But the most striking feature of the room is a
square-headed arched recess, or niche, with pierced spandrels.
What was its use? It is about the right height for a seat, and
what may have been the seat is there unaltered. Or was it a niche
containing a Calvary, or some figure? I confess I know nothing. Is
this a unique example? I cannot remember any other. But possibly
there may be others, equally hidden away, comparison with which
might unfold its secret. In this room, and in other parts of the
house, much of the old ironwork of hinges and door-fasteners
remains, and is simply excellent. The old oak sliding shutters are
still there, and two more fine stone mantelpieces; on one hearth
the original encaustic tiles with patterns, chiefly a Maltese
cross, and the oak cill surrounding them, are _in situ_. I confess
I tremble for the safety of this priceless relic. The house is in
a somewhat dilapidated condition; and I know that one attempt was
made to buy the panelling and take it away. Surely such a monument
of the past should be in some way guarded by the nation."

The beauty of English cottage-building, its directness, simplicity,
variety, and above all its inevitable quality, the intimate way in
which the buildings ally themselves with the soil and blend with the
ever-varied and exquisite landscape, the delicate harmonies, almost
musical in their nature, that grow from their gentle relationship with
their surroundings, the modulation from man's handiwork to God's
enveloping world that lies in the quiet gardening that binds one to
the other without discord or dissonance--all these things are
wonderfully attractive to those who have eyes to see and hearts to
understand. The English cottages have an importance in the story of
the development of architecture far greater than that which concerns
their mere beauty and picturesqueness. As we follow the history of
Gothic art we find that for the most part the instinctive art in
relation to church architecture came to an end in the first quarter of
the sixteenth century, but the right impulse did not cease.
House-building went on, though there was no church-building, and we
admire greatly some of those grand mansions which were reared in the
time of El