PARHAM. 1 5 



before the utilitarian improvements of the nine- 

 teenth century, it affords me no small pleasure to 

 record that western Sussex can still boast of one 

 of the most interesting heronries in the south of 

 Enoland. It is situated at Parham, the seat of 

 the Honourable Robert Curzon: there is not a 

 more beautifully wild and forest-like park in the 

 county; there, indeed, everything seems imbued 

 with the spirit of the olden time ; from the ancient 

 hall itself, with its huge grate, and walls hung 

 with ancestral armour, to the venerable oak trees 

 in the foreground, and the dark woods of Scotch 

 and spruce fir which crown the heathery hills in 

 the distance. 



You may remember that in a former letter 1 

 alluded to the variety and beauty of the scenery 

 in that belt of country, on the sandstone forma- 

 tion, which lies to the north of the Do^vns, be- 

 tween the latter and the weald, and extends from 

 Rogate, on the borders of Hampshire, across the 

 whole of west Sussex. Parham is situated in this 

 tract, about eight miles, as the crow flies, to the 

 south-east of Petworth, and the greater portion of 

 the intervening country is on the same stratum. 



I lately made an expedition to this heronry 

 during the breeding season, an account of which 

 may perhaps amuse you. The weather for some 

 months had been cold, wet, and unseasonable, but 



