i86o-6i FULMER PLACE 109 



The old brick wall, rounding in on each side the 

 entry gate, is original ; and the noble " Balm of 

 Gilead Fir Tree " within the entrance was doubt- 

 less planted by Richard Eskrigge. The two fish- 

 ponds where he fed the carp are exactly as our 

 poor father saw them when a very little boy. I 

 fancied the old great-grandfather and the child de- 

 scending the gentle slope of the lawn from the front 

 door to the margin of the ponds. The views from 

 the house are beautifully undulated and wooded, 

 as charming a retreat as a philosopher could 

 desire. Cooper and I had walked down a path- 

 way by the side of the house to the ponds, where 

 one of them extends beyond the garden, when 

 we saw Mr. Wanklyn coining down the opposite 

 slope. He welcomed me most kindly, as the 

 great-grandson of the founder of the house, which 

 he has almost rebuilt and largely added to. He 

 fully enjoys his place and property. ... He is a 

 man of taste, and has laid out the gardens and 

 grounds so as to effect a very beautiful residence. 

 . . . To-morrow I shall worship in the old church. 

 The leaves enclosed I plucked from an old apple- 

 tree in the orchard.' 



During the latter part of i860 Owen was 

 busily occupied in bringing to a conclusion his task 

 of editing two octavo volumes of Hunter's MSS. 

 He himself attached considerable importance to 

 this work, ' the preparation of which,' as he says, 

 in his dedication of the book, ' terminates the 



