On one
side of this common, the ground sloped down to a clear bright
pond, in which were mirrored the rough sand-cliffs that rose
abrupt on the opposite bank; hundreds of martens found a home
there, and were now wheeling over the transparent water, and
dipping in their wings in their evening sport. Indeed, all sorts
of birds seemed to haunt the lonely pool; the water-wagtails were
scattered around its margin, the linnets perched on the topmost
sprays of the gorse-bushes, and other hidden warblers sang their
vespers on the uneven ground beyond. On the far side of the green
waste, close by the road, and well placed for the requirements of
horses or their riders who might be weary with the ascent of the
hill, there was a public-house, which was more of a farm than an
inn. It was a long, low building, rich in dormer-windows on the
weather side, which were necessary in such an exposed situation,
and with odd projections and unlooked-for gables on every side;
there was a deep porch in front, on whose hospitable benches a
dozen persons might sit and enjoy the balmy air. A noble sycamore
grew right before the house, with seats all round it ("such tents
the patriarchs loved"); and a nondescript sign hung from a branch
on the side next to the road, which, being wisely furnished with
an interpretation, was found to mean King Charles in the oak.
Near this comfortable, quiet, unfrequented inn, there was another
pond, for household and farmyard purposes, from which the cattle
were drinking, before returning to the fields after they had been
milked.
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