148 UNDER THE TREES. 



the completed structure seemed to be a monument 

 of our toil rather than a refuge from the world. 



After this sad e^erience, Rosalind and I con 

 tented ourselves with building castles in Spain ; 

 and so great has been our devotion to this occupa 

 tion that we are already joint owners of immense 

 possessions in that remote and beautiful country. 

 It is a singular circumstance that the dwellers in 

 Arden, almost without exception, are holders of 

 estates in Spain. I have never seen any of these 

 splendid properties ; in fact, Rosalind and I have 

 never seen our own castles ; but I have heard very 

 full and graphic descriptions of those distant seats. 

 In imagination I have often seen the great piles 

 crowning the crests of wooded hills, whence noble 

 parks and vast landscapes lay spread out ; I have 

 been thrilled by the notes of the hunting-horn and 

 discerned from afar the cavalcade of beautiful 

 women and gallant men winding its way to the 

 gates of the courtyard ; I have seen splendid ban 

 ners afloat from turret and casement ; I have seen 

 lights flashing at night and heard faint murmurs of 

 music and laughter. Truly they are fortunate who 

 own castles in Spain ! 



In the Forest of Arden there is no such brave 

 show of battlement and rampart. In all our 

 rambles we never came upon a castle or palace; in 

 fact, so far as I remember, no one ever spoke of 

 such structures. They seem to have no place 

 there. Nor is it hard to understand this singular 



