32 (Slentiour'g afe. 



An ample river winds through green meadows, with trees 

 on either side, and, in the distance, is a church with its 

 solitary turret, and rude porch of the olden time. The 

 gentle murmur of a stream is heard at intervals, and the 

 sighing of the wind among the branches of the aged oak ; 

 on high the lark lifts up his song of joy, and the warbling 

 of birds breaks upon the stillness of the place ; that of the 

 chaffinch and the throstle, the goldfinch and the linnet, 

 and the sweet full tone of the contented blackbird. They 

 much affect this spot, it is so lone, yet cheerful. 



Time was when the site of the old tree resounded with 

 the clang of arms, and rueful sights were seen from its 

 topmost boughs, for the Oak of Chertsey was then in its 

 prime; the now rough and quarried bark was smooth and 

 glossy, and its ample branches sheltered an extensive 

 space, where sheep could lie down at noon. 



A dreadful battle was fought between Henry IV. and 

 Hotspur a short way off, and scarcely had any battle 

 occurred in those ages of which the shock was more 

 terrible. Furious and repeated vollies of " arrowy sleet," 

 discharged from the strong bows of Hotspur's archers, 

 did great execution in the royal army ; they were showered 

 from a rising ground covered with green sward, on which 

 the shepherds loved to pasture their flocks, and where the 

 village children used to gather cowslips and yellow-cups. 

 But the flocks had been driven off, and the frightened 

 children were in their homes ; the rising ground was no 

 place for them. The arrows that were thus furiously 



