EASY-CHAIR MEMORIES 37 



as the author says, or " the sort of rough pro- 

 cess of which Lorna Doone is the consumma- 

 tion.' 7 One author, Mr. Rawle, has maintained 

 that there is "no evidence of the existence of 

 the Doones in the national records," and he 

 adds, "none of the old inhabitants of the 

 district round Oare ever heard of the Doones 

 until after the publication of Lorna Doone" 

 Mr. Snell, in reply to this, says that " Mr. 

 Rawle has not carried his researches far 

 enough to convince him that long before 

 Blackmore had written a syllable of his romance 

 there was in existence a well-established tradi- 

 tion of the Doones." Mr. Snell says that he 

 stumbled on Blackmore's track in the autumn 

 of 1900 at Withypool. Mr. Tudball, the village 

 postmaster, whose father was landlord of the 

 Royal Oak for twenty-seven years, can vouch 

 for the fact that Blackmore wrote part of Lorna 

 Doone whilst staying at the inn. There seems 

 to be abundant legendary evidence as to the 

 fact of the real existence of the Doones, and 

 now, at the eleventh hour, he produces a rather 

 sensational bit of evidence. A lady, who signs 

 herself " Ida M. Browne " (her real name being 

 Audrie Doon), wrote an article in the autumn of 



