140 The Amateur Poacher 



None of these show any signs of alarm, and only move 

 just far enough to avoid being trodden on. Approach- 

 ing the wood there are yet more pheasants, especially 

 near the fir plantations that come up to the keeper's 

 cottage and form one side of the enclosure of his 

 garden. The pheasants come up to the door to pick 

 up what they can — not long since they were fed there — 

 and then wander away between the slender fir trunks, 

 and beyond them out into the fields. 



The path leads presently into a beautiful park, the 

 only defect of which is that it is without undulation. 

 It is quite level ; but still the clumps of noble timber 

 are pleasant to gaze upon. In one spot there still 

 stands the grey wall and buttress of some ancient 

 building, doubtless the relic of an ecclesiastical founda- 

 tion. The present mansion is not far distant ; it is of 

 large size, but lacks elegance. Inside, nothing that 

 modern skill can supply to render a residence com- 

 fortable, convenient, and (as art is understood in 

 furniture) artistic has been neglected. 



Behind the fir plantations there is an extensive 

 range of stabling, recently erected, with all the latest 

 improvements. A telegraph wire connects the house 

 with the stable, so that carriage or horse may be in- 

 stantly summoned. Another wire has been carried 

 to the nearest junction with the general telegraphic 



