THE HALL 343 



with "the board" at the end, at which the lord of 

 the manor used to sit "above the salt," and its legs 

 battered by the convivialities of long bygone 

 generations, bring the "other manners of other 

 times " into strong relief. In the panels of the walls 

 hang curios and relics of every description, drawn 

 from many nations and many ages ; and from 

 above them, look demurely down contemporary 

 portraits of Laud and Strafford, which, some- 

 how or other, found their way into the abode of 

 those who would have had little misgiving about 

 the justice of their doom. For Bingham's Mel- 

 combe, it should be mentioned, was the head- 

 quarters of the Parliamentarians in Dorset, as 

 Corfe Castle was of the Royalists. It has been 

 even hinted that the portraits were looted by the 

 Binghams from the Bankes. 



Two pieces of furniture, one of recent introduc- 

 tion, the other co-eval with the oriel itself and 

 with Philip and Mary, deserve a word of special 

 mention : "The Moons" and the "Armada Table." 

 " The Moons " are big round lamps, fixed on tall 

 poles, with a catch at the lower end to fit into a 

 stirrup. They used to be carried, in long bye-gone 

 times, by postillions, booted and armed, in front of 

 a coach, through wild or uninhabited parts of the 



