156 RAMBLE OVER DERBYSHIRE HILLS AND DALES. 
north-west, on a fine evening at sunset, most beautiful. Haddon 
Hall is a place one never tires of ; each succeeding visit discovers 
new beauties, and different seasons and times produce varied 
effects on its gray old walls and towers. Many a happy day have 
I spent there, and many a picture have I taken away. Haddon is 
‘a joy for ever”—and whether we ramble along the sinuous 
banks of the sparkling Wye to obtain delicious peeps through the 
grand old trees, or tread its 
‘* Silent courts 
Deserted halls, and turrets high,” 
or wander musingly in the old gardens beneath the shade of 
yews ; at every step and every turn, Haddon presents some new 
feature, some new charm to interest and delight the lover of the 
picturesque and the beautiful. 
“J have seen 
Old houses, where the men of former time 
Have lived and died, so wantonly destroyed 
By their descendants, that a place like this, 
Preserved with pious care, but not ‘ restored ’ 
By iude, presumptuous hands, nor modernized 
To suit convenience, seems a precious thing ; 
And I would thank its owner for the hours 
That I have spent there ; and I leave it now, 
Hoping that his successors may preserve 
Its roof with equal tenderness. It gave 
Good shelter to their fathers many a year.” 
In half-an-hour after passing Haddon we were once more in 
the train at Rowsley, and soon reached “home, sweet home.” 
We have since had many pleasant journeyings together, but 
none more thoroughly enjoyed than this our Srx Days’ RAMBLE 
OVER DERBYSHIRE HILLS AND DALES. 
