262 NATURE IN DOWNLAND 



herd of whicli I am a member, are excluded. I paid 

 my coin and signed my name, and was one of a small 

 exploring party of persons, damp and depressed as 

 myself, under the guidance of a sexton or verger. 

 He, unlike us, was in a rather merry mood, and gave 

 a humorous colour to old traditions and historical 

 incidents. When we had duly cursed Cromwell the 

 Destroyer, as I dare say we had cursed him in many 

 another noble building and in many a ruin, we came 

 in our rambles to an ancient small chapel where we 

 saw some curious old monkish wood-carArings which 

 the Puritans ought in consistency to have destroyed, 

 but did not. Here were oak seats in rows, and on 

 the back of each one was a carving representing some 

 humorous, fanciful, or grotesque scene, but I looked 

 attentively at only one, the first that caught my eye. 

 In this, a fox sat at ease in a chair, his legs crossed, 

 his brush thrown carelessly like a long coat-tail across 

 his lap, a stringed instrument on which he was 

 merrily playing in his hand ; his foot was pressed on 

 the bosom of a goose, lying, poor wretch, screaming 

 and flapping its wings at his feet; while he, inclin- 

 ing his sharp nose a Uttle, was looking down much 

 amused at the struggles of his victim. Opposite to 

 him, in another chair, sat an ape, listening to the 

 performance with all the gravitj'^ in the world. 



Perhaps, thought I, those harsh and gloomy- 

 minded men, who, in their zeal for their unlovely 

 religion, destroyed so many works that had been a 



