the birthplace of many “wooden walls of old England.”  Here among other famous ships was launched the Agamemnon, commanded by Nelson at the siege of Celvi, where he lost his right eye.  An unfortunate disagreement between the shipbuilders and the Admiralty, in which the former were so ill advised as to seek the help of the law, led to the abandonment of the yards.  At St. Leonards, nearer the mouth of the estuary, is the ruin of a chapel belonging to the Cistercians of Beaulieu and also portions of their great barn, said to be the largest in England (209 feet by 70 feet).  The great Abbey church, nearly four miles off, was entirely swept away during the Demolition.  It was here that the wife of the King Maker took refuge after the death of her husband at the battle of Barnet.  A few days before, on the actual day of the fight, arrived Margaret of Anjou with reinforcements for Henry VI.  Some years later, after his repulse at Exeter, Perkin Warbeck sought sanctuary, the right of which had been granted to the monastery by Pope Innocent IV.  The monks’ refectory is now the parish church and a very fine and interesting one it makes.  Considerable portions of the domestic buildings remain.  Palace House, the residence of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, was once the gatehouse of the abbey.

A return must now be made to Southampton, and the Christchurch road taken through Totton to Lyndhurst.  The station for the latter town is over two miles away on the Southampton road, where the railway makes a wide detour to Beaulieu Road and Brockenhurst.  The absurd title given to Lyndhurst by local guide-books, “Capital of the New Forest,” is uncalled for.  Certainly it is nearly the centre of the district and is within convenient distance of some of the most beautiful woodlands, but nothing could be a greater contrast to the surroundings than this new-looking brick excrescence.  It has one fine old Jacobean building—­the “King’s House,” where the Forest Courts are held.  The Verderers, of whom there are six, are elected by open ballot.  They must be landowners residing in or near the Forest and may sit in judgment upon any offence against Forest laws.  These Verderers Courts have been held since Norman days and the old French terms “pannage,” “turbary” and so on, are still used.  Further, the old name for the court, “Swain Mote,” indicates a Saxon origin for this seat of greenwood justice.

[Illustration:  THE KNIGHTWOOD OAK IN WINTER.]

The spire of Lyndhurst church can be seen for miles wherever high ground and a break in the woods render this possible.  It surmounts a mid-Victorian erection of variegated bricks in about the worst possible taste for its situation.  The one redeeming feature is a wall painting of the Ten Virgins by Lord Leighton.