the civil war, it had been surrounded by a wall with a gatehouse, which the Cavalier's lady, after a long battle, had prevailed upon him to demolish, though he had still rendered the materials available in some respects to military objects, by constructing with them, at each extremity of the terrace, a little mimic fort, to which he had respectively applied the names of Liskard and Roundway Down, from his having been engaged in both those battles, and their proving fortunate to the royal cause. Here were mounted some small brass cannons which he fired off upon every anniversary and victory, real or assumed, and in front of them extended the park, an improvement suggested by the wife, who was also responsible for the serpentine drive, or approach to the house, along which the new proprietor had won his way on the previous evening with such infinite trouble and trepidation.

From this terrace Isaac Goldingham, well satisfied with the appearance of the mansion, looked down over a rich, extensive, and wellwooded landscape in one direction, while in the

other he beheld, through the openings of the trees in his park, the dark blue line of the sea, studded here and there with white sails. It was a breezy, elastic, sparkling morning, so bright indeed that Timothy declared with a misgiving shake of the head, it was sure to bring rain. By his master, however, who saw nothing but the present brilliance of the day, and whose notions of the picturesque had been pretty much limited to the romantic of Hoxton or Islington ponds, when he had gone a ducking to them in his younger days, the scene now before him could hardly be contemplated without its awakening new and delightful sensations. He had no idea that the country was half so fine an invention, and when be beheld it, not only as a beautiful object of itself, but as constituting in part his own property-as a source of revenue, and a beneficial purchase, his feelings of mingled gratification arrived at an acme which could only be expressed by his drawing himself proudly up, uttering one of his loudest “Hems!” and indenting the gravel with his cane as he struck it forcibly upon the ground.

It was the first time in his life that he had. ever owned a foot of land, and however a man's notions may be sophisticated by civic appreciations of wealth, there is a charm, a magic in the word "Freehold," which finds its way to every bosom. He who stands upon his own terra firma, has a right to feel like one of the lords of creation, for he is part and parcel of the general system of things, owner of a certain portion of the solid globe itself, upon which he may strike his foot with the certainty that the ground beneath, down to the very centre of the earth is his own; and that the echo he awakens, even should it rise upwards to the heavens, will travel through a portion of space which the law has equally pronounced to be his property. Elevated and inspirited by these impressions, Isaac set forward to traverse his domains at a pace which soon left his servant considerably in the rear.- "Come on, good Timothy," he cried in a conciliatory tone, occasioned by his pleasurable sensations-" Come on-'tis a brisk morning-I am in a hurry to see my farms, and I love to walk fast."-" Like

enough, like enough," replied the old man, continuing the same jog-trot pace, "but I have seen the farms a hundred times, and I like to walk slow."

Offended as he was at the freedom of this obstinate old animal, as he pettishly called him, Goldingham had sufficient insight into character to be convinced that his attendant would be equally insensible to coaxing and menaces, and that to avail himself of his services he must accommodate himself to his humours.

No showman exhibiting some newly imported baboon to the astonished rustics at a country fair, ever paraded his monster with greater satisfaction, than did Timothy lead about his strange-looking master to the different tenants, his face surcharged with a sly simper that occasionally broke out into a half-suppressed snigger, and a jerk of the left shoulder, as he introduced him. 66 By my troggs! Farmer Penfold," he exclaimed to the first whom they thus visited, “'tis neither a flam nor a bamboozle, but the new landlord in real down-right earn

est, and a proper queer one he is, sure enough. Zooks! man, never stare o' that fashion, it's not the man in the moon, but Master Goldingham, who has bought the old Cavalier's estate, and all that belongs to it, and so make your best bow to your new landlord." In this manner they proceeded from one farm to another, until they had visited every portion of the domain, when Isaac returned to the house, highly delighted with all that he had seen, and still more with his friend Tibbs the Scrivener, who had rather under than over-stated the beauty of the place, and the value of the property. The unbridled freedom of old Timothy's tongue had indeed more than once offended him, but he seemed to be so thoroughly acquainted with every thing relating to the estate, and when called upon for the account of disbursements and receipts since the time of the purchase, he had furnished it in so clear and satisfactory a manner, that it reconciled his new master to his flippant familiarity, which he was willing to acquit of all intentional offence, and determined