wantonly mutilated or destroyed."

In the time of the commonwealth, Brambletye was the focus of many a
cavalier conspiracy. "From its not being a place of any strength or
notice, it was imagined that Brambletye might better escape the keen and
jealous watchfulness, which kept the protector's eye ever fixed upon the
strong holds and defensible mansions of the nobility and gentry; while
its proximity to the metropolis, combined with the seclusion of its
situation, adapted it to any enterprize which required at the same time
secrecy, and an easy communication with the metropolis."

In the novel just quoted, which is altogether a pleasant assemblage of
historical facts, aided by the imaginative garniture of the author, the
denouement is brought about by the explosion of a gunpowder vault which
destroyed part of the mansion; and on the marriage of his hero and
heroine Brambletye House was abandoned to its fate; "and the time that
has intervened since its desertion," says our author, "combining with
the casualty and violence by which it was originally shattered and
dismantled, has reduced it to its present condition of a desolate and
forlorn ruin."

A visit to Brambletye was the immediate object of our journey, and
though a distance of thirty-three miles, we considered ourselves amply
requited by the pensive interest of the scene and its crowded
associations. In our childhood we had been accustomed to clamber its
ruins and tottering staircases with delight, not to say triumph;
heedless as we then were of the historical interest attached to them.
After a lapse of a score and ---- years, the whole scene had become
doubly attractive. A new road had been formed from East Grinstead to
Forest Row, from which a pleasant lane wound off to Brambletye. We are