ENGLISH HIHD-LIFE 



403 



I went to I loliiiesley and drove thence, tlirouiiii IJurley, 

 to Picket Post, Iodising at an isolated tea-house in the midst 

 of the gorse-covered moors, — the home of the Dartford 

 ^Va^blel^ Nearby, was a bit of the original forest growth, 

 which doubtless covered a large part of the country at th.' 

 time of the Norman invasion. Here ai'e magnilicent i)atri- 

 archal beeches, not one, but eveiy tree of exceptional beauty 

 and diuiiitN . The mossv gi'ound bcncaih. dccoralcil with liv 



Beeches in the New Forest 



acintli, wood sorrel, and veronica, was as free from under- 

 growth as a lawn, and stretched away beneath the gray 

 limbs and green leaves, into enchanted glades and aisles, 

 from which one would not have been surpi'ised to see Robin 

 Hood and his merry men step forth at any moment. Never 

 have I seen a more inviting woodland. 



One may drive north through the forest to Salishuiy 

 where, on the surrounding plains, he will not be out of hear- 



