142 Mum* of eUpjstone 



A new scene presents itself, for more than eighty years 

 have passed since these things were done, and the aspect 

 of everything is changed. 



Clipstone Palace does not look gloomy now. Altera- 

 tions have been made, though it is difficult to say how or 

 where. There is the keep and the bastion, the wall and 

 moat, but the place looks lighter, the men-at-arms are 

 not so heavily loaded with armour, and the knights and 

 ladies wear a lighter and a gayer dress. Their palfreys 

 are elegantly caparisoned, and they go forth with hawks 

 upon their wrists, and hounds running by their sides, with 

 only a few attendants. The dwellings o f the poorer classes 

 are more comfortable than in the days of John, and they 

 have around them small enclosures, in which grow pot- 

 herbs, and fragrant flowers. The country, too, is culti- 

 vated in many parts, and all look peaceful and contented. 



He who surveys the landscape from an eminence, 

 will observe that houses have been built, which, although 

 not rising to the dignity of castles, have much of the 

 ancient baronial style, being strongly moated, and having 

 the entrance guarded with a portcullis. They consist of a 

 quadrangle, with a large area in the centre, into which 

 both sheep and oxen are often driven for greater security 

 by night. The fields around are in general well attended 

 to, and large gardens, stocked with fruit and vegetables, 

 supply not only the wants of the respective families, but 

 also provides abundance of such medicinal herbs, as is 

 convenient to have within reach. This style of building 



