46 THE SONG OF THE REEL. 



On leaving the station, it is charming, also, to follow the up- 

 land road that, after rising gradually for nearly two miles, thrusts 

 out before the wayfarer a delightful view of the Valley of Peace. 

 The scene is not one of impressive grandeur ; it is only a simple 

 picture of homely English country a picture rendered pleasing by 

 a sequence of dainty compositions. Here is obtained, too, a 

 glimpse of the secluded and tranquil village amid its setting of 

 hedge-intersected fields and umbrageous woods, its red-tiled cottage 

 roofs contrasting greatly with the green trees and the various 

 colours that glow in a landscape typical of the motherland. 



The neighbourhood is rich in historical associations. The 

 remains of an accomplished Earl repose in the little church ; whilst 

 a short distance away is the site of a Roman station. To-day the 

 manor-house is graced by magnificent walnut trees that form a 

 fitting background to the quaint spectacle presented by the squire 

 and his wife in a donkey chaise driven by their young son ; but 

 where the manor now stands was situated a nobler house that was 

 stormed and laid in ruins during the Civil War. These relics or 

 happenings of the long-ago, however, appear to be of little interest 

 to the villagers is it because they are ignorant of these things, or 

 is it because they prefer to speak of that period of the past they 

 themselves and their fathers remember, or because the daring deeds 

 of an eccentric and hard-riding squire they have " heard tell of " 

 appeal to them more than the events chronicled by the historian ? 

 For the present, it is their boast that the surrounding country is 

 shot over by a lord and an Indian prince ! 



My earliest recollections of the Valley of Peace bring with 

 them memories of a small party of fly-fishers, who, in those days, 

 gathered together at least once during the week. There were five 

 of us and sometimes six. We would sit in the shade of the willows 

 if the afternoon sun, by its power, rendered fishing useless and 

 wearying we would loll, and chat, and smoke. So the time 

 passed pleasantly until we retired to the inn and made merry over 

 a wholesome tea, after which we sauntered riverward in readiness 

 for the evening rise. And the memories of many a " crowded 



