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first Old Twelfth-night, I must acknowledge that I 

 was somewhat alarmed at such a continual loud and 

 rattling report of fire-arras in every direction, living 

 as I did in a rather retired spot, away from any other 

 residence. It was a cold, gloomy, dark, and still 

 night, and being suddenly awoke by the loud reports 

 of fire-arms, I could not guess the meaning of it at 

 that untimely hour. I imagined at first that it was 

 an affray with gamekeepers and poachers, or with 

 smugglers and blockade-men ; and, suddenly hearing 

 a shrill vacant kind of hallo in a plantation close by, 

 I fancied at first that it was some poor fellow who had 

 been wounded in the affray : on getting up, however, 

 I found that it was a couple of owls answering each 

 other; they were as happy as could be, and the firing, 

 1 soon found, was in no particular spot, but went pop, 

 bang, east and west, north and south. On making 

 an early inquiry next morning, I was informed that it 

 was the yearly custom. The apple-trees, with few 

 exceptions, are entirely left to nature, consequently 

 they are entirely covered from top to bottom with 

 long moss and lichens ; the wood and branches are as 

 thick as those of a weeping-willow ; the fruit is gene- 

 rally very small and corey. The varieties are not 

 numerous : they seem all in this locality to cultivate 

 the same kinds. I have sometimes thought other 

 good sorts could be beneficially cultivated — some of 

 the large, free-bearing, juicy varieties, such as the 



