A BARN 



j<A BROAD red roof of tile is a conspicuous 

 l/\ \ object on the same road which winds 



lr==\ \ and turns in true crooked country fash- 

 *JL } V ion, with hedgerows, trees, and fields 

 on both sides, and scarcely a dwelling visible. It 

 is not, indeed, so crooked as a lane in Gloucester- 

 shire, which I verily believe passes the same tree 

 thrice, but the curves are frequent enough to vary 

 the view pleasantly. 



Approaching from either direction, on turning a 

 certain corner a great red roof rises high above the 

 hedges, and the line of its ridge is seen every way 

 through the trees. With this old barn, as with so 

 much of the architecture of former times, the roof 

 is the most important part. The gables, for in- 

 stance, of Elizabethan houses occupy the eye far 

 more than the walls; and so, too, with the antique 

 halls that still exist. The roof of this old barn is 

 itself the building ; the roof and the doors, for the 

 sweeping slope of the tiles comes down within 

 reach of the hand, while the great doors extend 

 half-way to the ridge. 



93 



