a wood chiefly composed of oak trees that were then leafless.  The only foliage that arrested his attention was that of the ivy, holly, and yew, and these evergreens looked so beautiful that he occasionally stopped to admire them without exactly knowing the reason why; after leaving the great wood he reached a secluded village far away from what was called civilisation, where he inquired the way to “Buckingham’s Cave” from a man who turned out to be the village wheelwright.  In the course of conversation the man informed him that he occasionally wrote poetry for a local newspaper with a large circulation in that and the adjoining counties.  He complained strongly that the editor of the paper had omitted one verse from the last poem he had sent up; which did not surprise my brother, who inwardly considered he might safely have omitted the remainder.  But when the wheelwright showed him the poem he was so pleased that he asked permission to copy the verses.

  The fairest flower that ever bloomed
    With those of bright array
  In Seasons’ changeful course is doomed
    To fade and die away;
  While yonder’s something to be seen—­
  It is the lovely evergreen!

  The pretty flowers in summer-time
    Bring beauty to our land,
  And lovely are the forest trees—­
    In verdure green they stand;
  But while we gaze upon the scene
  We scarcely see the evergreen!

  But lo! the wintry blast comes on,
    And quickly falls the snow;
  And where are all the beauties gone
    That bloom’d a while ago? 
  While yonder stands through winter keen
  The lovely-looking evergreen!

  Our lives are like a fading flower,
    And soon they pass away,
  And earthly joys may last an hour
    To disappear at close of day;
  But Saints in Heaven abide serene
  And lasting, like the evergreen!

My brother felt that here he had found one of nature’s poets, and no longer wondered why he had admired the evergreen trees and bushes when he came through the forest.

[Illustration:  COL.  JOHN PENRUDDOCKE.]

In about two miles after leaving Wilton we parted company with the River Nadder, and walked along the road which passes over the downs to Shaftesbury.  On our way we came in sight of the village of Compton Chamberlain, and of Compton House and park, which had been for centuries the seat of the Penruddocke family.  It was Colonel John Penruddocke who led the famous “forlorn hope” in the time of the Commonwealth in 1655.  He and another champion, with 200 followers, rode into Salisbury, where, overcoming the guards, they released the prisoners from the gaol, and seizing the two judges of assize proclaimed Charles II King, just as Booth did in Cheshire.  The people of the city did not rise, as they anticipated, so Penruddocke and his companions dispersed and rode away to different parts of the country; eventually they were all taken