136 &ufn* of 



chards, covered with blossoms, where the goldfinch and 

 linnet, the joyous throstle and the bullfinch, love to 

 nestle. All is lonely here, the long grass which grows 

 wild and high, around and within the ruin, is rarely 

 trodden on, and so damp and chill is the feeling of the 

 place, that the sheep and cattle that graze upon the 

 common rarely seek it, unless in the hottest 'summer- 

 day, when they cannot find shelter elsewhere. Yet this 

 lone and melancholy spot was not always thus deserted : 

 the broken-down walls encircled a spacious area, within 

 which was all the life and business, the gladness and 

 festivity of a palace ; there was the great hall and the 

 refectory, the chapel, where prayer was duly offered, 

 the rooms of state, and apartments of various descrip- 

 tions. Men-at-arms guarded the strong gate by night 

 and by day, and when its ample doors were opened by 

 the king's command, a troop of horse might freely pass, 

 and large companies did come and go, for great hos- 

 pitality was occasionally exercised in Clipstone palace. 



Fancy, that nimble fairy, who calls up the images of 

 bygone days, who causes men to live again, and re- 

 people the fair scenes in which they once rejoiced or 

 suffered ; who builds up the ruined wall, and removes 

 the unsightly branches which keep off the pleasant sun- 

 beams, bids the stately palace of Clipstone to stand 

 forth in all its majesty. Touched by her wand, the 

 mists of ages have rolled away, and surely a more 

 goodly building rarely meets the eye. 



