on the hill and took some of the measurements myself. I could not make
mine agree with Frank Buckland's: for instance, the ear appeared to be
seven yards only in length, and not fifteen; so that it would seem that
the figure is gradually growing smaller. It is the head and forelegs
that want scouring worst of all. There is little sign of the trench, two
feet deep, which in Buckland's time formed the outline of the horse; the
depth of the cutting is now only a matter of a very few inches.

The view from this hill is a very extensive one, embracing the vale from
Bath almost to Reading the whole length of the Cotswold Hills, as well
as the Chilterns, stretching away eastwards towards Aylesbury, and far
into Buckinghamshire. Beneath your feet lie many hundred thousand acres
of green pastures, varied in colour during summer and autumn by golden
wheatfields bright with yellow charlock and crimson poppies. It has
been said that eleven counties are visible on clear days.

The White Horse at Westbury, further down the line, represents a horse
in a standing position. He reflects the utmost credit on his grooms; for
not only are his shapely limbs "beautifully and wonderfully made," but
the greatest care is taken of him. The Westbury horse is not in reality
nearly so large as this one at Uffington, but he is a very beautiful
feature of the country. I paid him a visit the other day, and was
surprised to find he was very much smaller than he appears from the
railway. Glancing over a recent edition of Tom Hughes' book, "The
Scouring of the White Horse," I found the following lines:--

"In all likelihood the _pastime_ of 1857 will be the last of his race;
for is not the famous Saxon (or British) horse now scheduled to an Act
of Parliament as an ancient monument which will be maintained in time to
come as a piece of prosaic business, at the cost of other than Berkshire