52 ON SURREY HILLS. 



in some of the present inhabitants to indicate where 

 they spring from. We have not sufficient space to 

 describe all, so we follow the sage old proverb that 

 tells us " that is best which lies nearest us," and will 

 take, first, glorious Holmbury, with its fell of the 

 moor, or, as it is named in all parochial documents, 

 " Fell de Moor," with Farleigh, called locally Farley 

 Heath, or Fair Heath rightly named, for it is very 

 fair to look on. It has also a history of a past time, 

 when the Romans ruled Britain. 



Close to Holmbury, springing from the valley that 

 divides them, is Leith Hill. Local tradition speaks 

 of it as the Stronghold of Leith, when the Romans 

 camped on the sister hill of Holmbury. What a 

 wealth of hills and dales, woods and streams, there 

 is in our health-giving Holmbury ! Long ago, when 

 it was a land comparatively little known to the gen- 

 eral public, it had a still wilder beauty. In my wan- 

 derings I have been in many an out-of-the-way spot ; 

 but for perfect rest and the feeling of a safe lodging 

 in some far-away vast wilderness a hiding-place 

 from the " strife of tongues " and the contentions of 

 men give me Holmbury, as I knew it thirty years 

 ago. 



