Many years ago, a gentleman and lady came suddenly into the neighbourhood, and made the country folks stare, for they had never seen such people before.

They had very handsome but very old fashioned clothes. The gentleman wore a coat with broad skirts and large open sleeves, lined with silk; and the buttons were large and made of gold. His waistcoat was silk, embroidered all over, stiff with gold lace, and the flaps almost reached to his knees. breeches were of velvet, his stockings of white silk, and his knees and his shoes were adorned with golden buckles.

His

Every other part of his dress was equally singular; his shirt was of the finest holland with lace ruffles; his hair was powdered, and behind, hung down in a black silk bag; on his head was placed, with care, a cocked hat.

You would like to know how the lady was dressed too. I will tell you. She wore a dress of the richest silk and satin, very ancient in its appearance; her shoes were very high in the heels, her head dress rose

far above her head, and had a small straw hat placed on the top. You may be sure that when they walked abroad the country people stared at them with ali their eyes, just as much as if they had fallen from the

moon.

Well, they made up their minds to live at Sellack, and I dare say you expect they had a very grand house there; but no! they took the little cottage in the lane near Basham farm, that I spoke of before. There they lived, and there they died.

No one ever knew who they were, nor where they came from, but every body saw at a glance that they were gentlefolks, and had lived in high life.

They were very charitable, and visited all the poor cottagers. They read the bible to them, gave them good advice, and were respected and beloved by the rich and poor. When they died, they were buried in Sellack church yard; a flat stone lies over them with nothing on it but the letters J. H. and A. H. 1818. I sat upon that flat stone; the nettle, and the dock, and the dandelion were growing around it; but that did not matter, for I felt that I was musing over the

resting place of a worthy pair, who had lived a life of christian kindness and piety, and had gone down to the grave in peace.

There is a place called Marcle Hill, not many miles from Sellack; some years ago, a great part of it moved a considerable distance, to the astonishment of the neighbourhood. There is another place called Capler Wood, at the top of which are the remains of a Roman camp. Well, a part of Capler Wood gave way, and sloped down some distance toward the river. It is now called Capler Slip; when I stood upon it, large trees were growing there as upright as they grew before they took this journey down to the river side. I will now tell you of Goodrich Court.

CHAPTER VII.

Parley goes to Goodrich Court, and Tintern Abbey, and tells about Bristol, Clifton, and Bath.

SIR Samuel Rush Meyrick lives at Goodrich Court, and has got together such a collection of armour there that the like is not to be seen.

"You

A gentleman wrote a letter to introduce me. are such a traveller," said he, "and take so much notice of every thing curious, that Sir Samuel will be more pleased to see you, than he would be to see the duke of Buccleugh."

I set off with a worthy friend that I knew in that part of the country, and we soon arrived at the place.

Goodrich Court is a castle of reddish stone, built in the modern style, on the banks of the river Wye, and is a great deal like a French chateau, but I ought to tell you that chateau is the French word for castle. You would say that it was a pepper box style, for the towers somewhat resemble pepper boxes.

Well, Sir Samuel came to us as soon as he had read the letter I brought, and said he would go through the castle with us himself.

If I had been a lord he could not have paid me more attention; but he saw that I let nothing escape me. I was full of questions, and inquired about every thing.

I will tell you why this is one of the best collections of armour in the world. In most places where armour is kept, the people, who knew nothing about it, tell

foolish tales that have not a word of truth about them; every piece of armour is said, by them, to have belonged to some renowned knight or other. But this is not the case at Goodrich Court. No; care has been taken to get the best information about all the arms and armour shown there.

I love to see any thing that explains the manners and customs of those who lived hundreds of years ago. Before gunpowder was invented, armour was much worn in battle, by those who could afford it, and in some castles, armed knights were always ready to mount their steeds, which were kept bridled and saddled in the stables.

At one time, armour was made of iron and steel rings sewed on cloth; then of steel rings altogether; this was called a shirt of mail, or a hauberk; and then came plate armour, or armour formed of metal plates.

Armour was sometimes made very expensive. Sir Walter Raleigh went to court in a suit of armour made of solid silver; so the people said he carried a Spanish galleon on his back, meaning that it was worth as much as the silver taken as a prize from a Spanish ship. Only think of a solid silver suit of armour!