THE SMUGGLER. 367 



the wood, a part of which still exists in great beauty, was 

 a convenience on which its architect seemed to have calcu- 

 lated. Standing some way off the high road, and about half 

 a mile from Collyer Green, it was so sheltered by trees that, 

 on whichever side approached, nothing could be seen but the 

 top of the roof and part of a garret -window, till one was 

 within a short distance of the edifice. But that garret- 

 window had its advantages, for it commanded a view over a 

 great part of the country, on three sides, and especially gave 

 a prospect of the roads in the neighbourhood. 



The building was not a farm-house, for it had none of the 

 requisites; it could not well be a public-house, though a sign 

 swung before it; for the lower windows were boarded up, and 

 the owner or tenant thereof, if any traveller whom he did not 

 know, stopped at his door, which was, indeed, a rare occur- 

 rence, told him that it was all a mistake, and cursing the 

 sign, vowed he would have it cut down. Nevertheless, if the 

 llamlcys, or any of their gang, or, indeed, any members of a 

 similar fraternity, came thither, the doors opened as if by 

 magic; and good accommodation for man and horse was sure 

 to be found within. 



It was also remarked, that many a gentleman in haste 

 went in there, and was never seen to issue forth again till he 

 appeared in quite a different part of the country; and, had 

 the master of the house lived two or three centuries earlier, 

 he might on that very account have risked the faggot, on a 

 charge of dealing with the devil. As it was, he was only 

 suspected of being a coiner; but in regard to that charge, 

 history has left no evidence, pro or con. 



It was in this house, however, on the evening of the day 

 subsequent to the discomfiture of the smugglers, that six men 

 were assembled in a small room at the back, all of whom had, 

 more or less, taken part in the struggle near Woodchurch. The 

 two younger Ramley's were there, as well as one of the princi- 

 pal members of their gang, and two other men, who had been 

 engaged in carrying smuggled goods from the coast, as a regu- 

 lar profession ; but who were, in other respects, much more 

 respectable persons than those by whom they were surrounded. 

 At the head of the table, however, was the most important 

 personage of the whole: no other than Richard Radford him- 

 self, who had joined his comrades an hour or two before. 



