138 The Amateur Poacher 



there was nothing resembling a * street ' not so much 

 as a row. The church was in effect the village, and 

 the church was simply the mausoleum of the Dessant 

 family, the owners of the place. Essant Hill as a 

 name had been rather a problem to the archaeologists, 

 there being no hill : the ground was quite level. The 

 explanation at last admitted was that Essant Hill was 

 a corruption of D'Essant-ville. 



It seemed probable that the population had greatly 

 diminished ; because, although the church was of 

 great antiquity, there was space still for interments in 

 the yard, A yew tree of immense size stood in one 

 corner, and was by tradition associated with the for- 

 tunes of the family. Though the old trunk was much 

 decayed, yet there were still green and flourishing 

 shoots ; so that the superstitious elders said the luck 

 of the house was returning. 



Within, the walls of the church were covered with 

 marble slabs, and the space was reduced by the tombs 

 of the Dessants, one with a recumbent figure ; there 

 were two brasses level with the pavement, and in the 

 chancel hung the faded hatchments of the dead. For 

 the pedigree went back to the Battle of Hastings, and 

 there was scarce room for more heraldry. From week's 

 end to week's end the silent nave and aisles remained 

 empty ; the chirp of the sparrows was the only sound 



