xviii INTRODUCTION 



On the marble slab of the vault is this simple inscription : 



P. B. 



SIBI 



ET 



SUIS 



MDCCCIX. 



Then on a memorial tablet is the name in full and 

 the date of death, with this rather curious epitaph : 



" We die and are forgotten — 'tis Heaven's decree ; 

 Thus the fate of others will be the fate of me." 



Out again into the bright sunlight, and I was asked 

 would I like to see the kennels, which of course was exactly 

 what I did want to see. Therefore, on we went down the 

 gravel path, by the edge of a large ornamental lake, where 

 tall yews threw dark shadows on the water, and through 

 kitchen -gardens surrounded by high walls of age-toned 

 brick. Here we called the head gardener to our assistance, 

 and coming out into the road I was confronted with a low 

 tile-roofed building, covered with roses and creepers, which 

 is still known as " the kennels." Now they are used as 

 dwelling-houses for workmen on the estate, and the little 

 flower gardens in front are planted where was once the 

 kennel yard. It took me some little time to reconstruct 

 the place as it was, but by opening doorways that had 

 been walled up and blocking up others, the kennels grew 

 gradually upon me. Here was the huntsman's house at 

 this end, there the boiling-house, and the original arches 

 are still in the walls showing the feeding-place or hounds' 

 main lodging-rooms. Some of the flagstones, which must 

 have often listened to the old story of legs and feet, are 

 now used as a pathway to one of the cottages. Not fifty 

 yards distant is the running stream which Beckford insists 

 on should always be in the grass-yard ; but here nature 

 and man have contrived to make serious alterations. The 

 trees under which the Cranbourn Chase hounds used to 



