262 NATURE IN DOWNLAND 



herd of which I am a member, are excluded. I paid 

 my coin and signed my name, and was one of a small 

 exploring party of persons, damp and depressed as 

 myself, under the guidance of a sexton or verger. 

 He, unlike us, was in a rather merry mood, and gave 

 a humorous colour to old traditions and historical 

 incidents. When we had duly cursed Cromwell the 

 Destroyer, as I dare say we had cursed him in many 

 another noble building and in many a ruin, we came 

 in our rambles to an ancient small chapel where we 

 saw some curious old monkish wood-carvings which 

 the Puritans ought in consistency to have destroyed, 

 but did not. Here were oak seats in rows, and on 

 the back of each one was a carving representing some 

 humorous, fanciful, or grotesque scene, but I looked 

 attentively at only one, the first that caught my eye. 

 In this, a fox sat at ease in a chair, his legs crossed, 

 his brush thrown carelessly like a long coat-tail across 

 his lap, a stringed instrument on which he was 

 merrily playing in his hand ; his foot was pressed on 

 the bosom of a goose, lying, poor wretch, screaming 

 and flapping its wings at his feet; while he, inclin- 

 ing his sharp nose a little, was looking down much 

 amused at the struggles of his victim. Opposite to 

 him, in another chair, sat an ape, listening to the 

 performance with all the gravity in the world. 



Perhaps, thought I, those harsh and gloomy- 

 minded men, who, in their zeal for their unlovely 

 religion, destroyed so many works that had been a 



