44 THE SMUGGLER. 



had one very great defect: it was very much out of repair; 

 not, indeed, of that sort of substantial repair which is neces- 

 sary to comfort, but of that pleasant repair which is agreeable 

 to the eye. It was well and solidly built, and was quite wind 

 and water tight ; but although the builders of the day in which 

 it was erected were, as every one knows, peculiarly neat in 

 their brick-work, yet Time would have his way even with 

 their constructions, and he had maliciously chiselled out the 

 pointing from between the sharp, well-cut bricks, scraped away 

 the mortar from the stone copings, and cracked and blistered 

 the painting of the wood- work. This labour of his had not 

 only given a venerable, but also a somewhat dilapidated ap- 

 pearance to the mansion; and some green mould, with which 

 he had taken the pains to dabble all the white parts of the 

 edifice, did not decrease the look of decay. 



Sweeping round from the parish road that we have men- 

 tioned was a branch, leading by the side of the lawn and a 

 gentle ascent, up to the terrace and to the great door, and 

 carriages on arriving passed along the whole front of the house 

 by the western angle before they reached the court-yard 

 behind. But from that court-yard there were various other 

 means of exit. One to the kitchen garden, one to two or 

 three other courts, and one into the wood which came within 

 fifty yards of the enclosure ; for, to use the ordinary romance 

 phrase, Harbourne House was literally " bosomed in a wood." 

 The windows, however, and the front, commanded a fine view 

 of a rich and undulating country, plentifully garnished with 

 trees, but still, for a considerable distance, exposed to the eye, 

 from the elevated ground upon which the mansion was placed. 

 A little hamlet was seen at the distance of about two miles in 

 front; I rather suspect it was Kenchill, and to the eastward 

 the house looked over the valley towards the high ground by 

 AVoodchurch and Woodchurch Beacon, catching a blue line 

 which probably was Romney Marsh. Between, Woodchurch, 

 however, and itself, was seen standing out, straight and up- 

 right, a very trim-looking white dwelling, flanked by some 

 pleasant groves, and to the west were seen one or two gentle- 

 men's seats scattered about over the face of the country. 

 Behind, nothing of course was to be seen but tree-tops, except 

 from the window of one of the attics, whence the housemaid 

 could descry Biddenden Windmill and the top of Biddendeu 



