Chadlands sprang into existence when the manor houses of England--
save for the persistence of occasional embattled parapets and
other warlike survivals of unrestful days now past--had obeyed
the laws of architectural evolution, and begun to approach a future
of cleanliness and comfort, rising to luxury hitherto unknown. The
development of this ancient mass was displayed in plan as much as
in elevation, and, at its date, the great mansion had stood for the
last word of perfection, when men thought on large lines and the
conditions of labour made possible achievements now seldom within
the power of a private purse. Much had since been done, but the
main architectural features were preserved, though the interior of
the great house was transformed.

The manor of Chadlands extended to some fifty thousand acres lying
in a river valley between the heights of Haldon on the east and
the frontiers of Dartmoor westerly. The little township was
connected by a branch with the Great Western Railway, and the
station lay five miles from the manor house. No more perfect
parklands, albeit on a modest scale, existed in South Devon, and
the views of the surrounding heights and great vale opening from
the estate caused pleasure alike to those contented with obvious
beauty and the small number of spectators who understood the
significance of what constitutes really distinguished landscape.

Eastward, long slopes of herbage and drifts of azaleas--a glorious
harmony of gold, scarlet, and orange in June--sloped upwards to
larch woods; while the gardens of pleasure, watered by a little
trout stream, spread beneath the manor house, and behind it rose