126 ON THE GRAMPIAN HILLS. 



every bank in places was literally carpeted with 

 primroses. After a brisk drive the marsh appears in 

 sight, a wide expanse of open land, without a bush or 

 tree,, with the numerous martello towers, which were 

 intended to keep guard over Dungeness Bay ; but now 

 that it is proposed to insidiously undermine the 

 " silver streak/' their occupation will be gone, an easy 

 approach for continental armies, as some people think, 

 being provided by the proposed Channel Tunnel. 

 Pulling up at a small village, having a somewhat 

 large and venerable church, which appeared out of 

 proportion to the population a public-house, grocer's 

 shop; and a few small tenements., comprising the whole 

 of this exceedingly small and truly rural hamlet we 

 were welcomed by Mr. Jones, a thorough sportsman 

 and bold rider, who, I was told, occupied fifteen 

 thousand acres of grass and arable land, over some of 

 which we were to walk, for riding was, if not impossible, 

 scarcely desirable, as the big ditches, full of mud and 

 stagnant water, cause it to be a line of country fair to 

 look upon but difficult to cross, though I am told that 

 Mr. Jones followed the East Kent Hounds in a capital 

 run over the marsh a few days since in proper form ; 

 but then he knows every inch of the country, without 

 which knowledge the boldest rider would be bound to 

 come to grief. Then I note some five or six brace of 

 good-looking greyhounds, including Mr. R-alp's Gipsy, 

 which was matched against Mr. Ovenden's Groodboy, 

 Mr, Ovenden's Graylad against Mr. Sampson's Zulu, 

 Mr. Kimmer's Seabrook against Mr. Jones's Sweet 

 Songster, Mr. Jones's Spanker against Mr. Philpot's 

 Valley, Mr. Jones's High Chancellor against Mr. 

 Samuel's Daniel, and two clever-looking puppies 



