where the Romany and the Zingari resided, and a keen watch was kept both
from the wall and from the hills beyond.

They now rode slowly down the slope, and in a few minutes reached the
barrier or gateway in the outer stockade. They had been observed, and
the guard called by the warden, but as they approached were recognised,
and the gate swang open before them. Walking their horses they crossed
to the hill, and were as easily admitted to the second enclosure. At the
gate of the wall they dismounted, and waited while the warden carried
the intelligence of their arrival to the family. A moment later, and the
Baron's son advanced from the porch, and from the open window the
Baroness and Aurora beckoned to them.




CHAPTER VIII

THYMA CASTLE


Soon afterwards the hollow sound of the warden's horn, from the watch
over the gate of the wall, proclaimed the hour of noon, and they all
assembled for dinner in the banqueting chamber. The apartment was on the
ground floor, and separated from the larger hall only by an internal
wall. The house, erected in the time of the ancients, was not designed
for our present style of life; it possessed, indeed, many comforts and
conveniences which are scarcely now to be found in the finest palaces,
but it lacked the breadth of construction which our architects have now
in view.