CHAP. II.] Sir C, Knightley, a^id Fawslty Hottse, 49 



spend an liour in the garden of a brother floral fauatico, 

 and return home afterwards. Quick of temper aud kiud 

 of heart, the worthy old baronet on going into the stable- 

 yard after breakfast was wont to be approached by 

 sundry old women from the village_, each with her separate 

 tale of woe, and her humble prayer for pecuniary assist- 

 ance. Eight well did the cunning old suppliants know 

 their man ! Loud, sometimes strong words, threats and 

 accusations of imposition, only heralded the inevitable 

 shilling or half-crown ; and the scene never seemed to 

 weary either party by repetition. 



Universal was the regret when it became known that 

 death had summoned, in his eighty-fifth year, this unique 

 specimen of the fine old country gentleman to join the 

 ancestors who for upwards of five hundred years had 

 been lords of the manor of Fawsley. 



The stranger, whether attracted by a meet of the hounds 

 or in search of the picturesque, who sees Fawsley for the 

 first time, cannot but feel that he is looking at one of 

 the old historic mansions of England. Situated on a 

 lawn of gentle elevation, it commands an extensive and 

 beautiful prospect, and is surrounded by a well-timbered 

 park, which, inclusive of the well-kuown ^^ Badby AYood,^^ 

 covers an area of upwards of six hundred acres. In 1416, 

 this property was purchased by Richard Knightley, the 

 descendant of an old Staffordshire family, deriving its 

 name from the manor of Knightley in that county. 

 During the Civil Wars the owner of the property was 

 a warm adherent of the Commonwealth, and married a 

 daughter of Hampden, thereby strengthening the tie 

 with the anti-royalist^s party. The common saying of 

 " under the rose ^^ is stated to have its origin from the 



