of its pristine glories during the Wars of the Roses. One out of
its original two quadrangles had then been laid in ruins, and had
never been rebuilt. But the old inner quadrangle still remained
standing, and made an ample and commodious dwelling house for the
family of the Chadgroves who inhabited it; whilst the ground which
had once been occupied by the larger outer quadrangle, with its
fortifications and battlements, was now laid out in terraces and
garden walks, which made a pleasant addition to the family
residence.

The seventh Henry was on the throne. The battle of Bosworth Field
had put an end to the long-drawn strife betwixt the houses of York
and Lancaster. The exhausted country was beginning to look forward
to a long period of prosperity and peace; and the household at Chad
was one of the many that were rejoicing in the change which had
come upon the public outlook, and was making the most of the
peaceful years which all trusted lay before the nation.

Several changes of some importance had passed over Chad during the
previous century. The wars had made gaps in the ranks of the family
to whom it had always belonged. There had been sundry edicts of
confiscation--as speedily repealed by the next change in the fate
of the day; and more than once the head had been struck down by
death, and the house and lands had passed either to a minor or to
some other branch of the family. There had been the confusion and
strife betwixt the various branches of the family which was a
characteristic of that age of upheaval and strife; but the present
owner of the estate, Sir Oliver Chadgrove, seemed firmly settled in
his place. He had fought on Henry's side at Bosworth, and had been
confirmed by that monarch in the possession of the estate of Chad;