good repair; and the beautiful
little river murmured freely on its way to the left of the town, neither
restrained by a dam nor bordered by a towing-path.

Upon a gentle eminence, nearly a mile to the southward of the town, were
seen, amongst many venerable oaks and tangled thickets, the turrets of
a castle as old as the walls of York and Lancaster, but which seemed to
have received important alterations during the age of Elizabeth and
her successor, It had not been a place of great size; but whatever
accommodation it formerly afforded was, it must be supposed, still to
be obtained within its walls. At least, such was the inference which
General Browne drew from observing the smoke arise merrily from several
of the ancient wreathed and carved chimney-stalks. The wall of the park
ran alongside of the highway for two or three hundred yards; and through
the different points by which the eye found glimpses into the woodland
scenery, it seemed to be well stocked. Other points of view opened in
succession--now a full one of the front of the old castle, and now
a side glimpse at its particular towers, the former rich in all the
bizarrerie of the Elizabethan school, while the simple and solid
strength of other parts of the building seemed to show that they had
been raised more for defence than ostentation.

Delighted with the partial glimpses which he obtained of the castle
through the woods and glades by which this ancient feudal fortress was
surrounded, our military traveller was determined to inquire whether
it might not deserve a nearer view, and whether it contained family
pictures or other objects of curiosity worthy of a stranger's visit,
when, leaving the vicinity of the park, he rolled through a clean and
well-paved street, and stopped at the door of a well-frequented inn.

Before ordering horses, to proceed on his journey, General Browne
made inquiries concerning the proprietor of the chateau which had so
attracted his admiration, and was equally surprised and pleased at
hearing in reply a nobleman named, whom we shall call Lord Woodville.
How fortunate! Much of Browne's early recollections, both at school
and at college, had been connected with young Woodville, whom, by a few
questions, he now ascertained to be the same with the owner of this fair
domain. He had been raised to the peerage by the decease of his father
a few months before, and, as the General learned from the landlord, the
term of mourning being end