without seeking any reconciliation with his other children--in fact
Roger was lost to sight--upon her head he concentrated the
benediction which should have been divided amongst the three.

She married Sir Nicholas of Harengod, near the sea, and was happy
in her choice. She built a chapel within the castle precincts, and
her prayer for permission to do so yet remains recorded:

"That it may be allowed me to have a chapel in my castle of
Walderne, at my own expense, to be served by the parish priest as
chaplain; without either font or bell."

It was granted upon the condition that to avoid any appearance of
schism, she should attend the parish church in state with her whole
household thrice in the year.

Six Hundred Years Ago: they have all been dead and buried these six
centuries; a dense wood, within which the moat can be traced,
covers the site of Sybil's castle and chapel, yet in these old
records they seem to live again. A sojourner for a brief summer
holiday amidst their former haunts--the same yet so changed--the
writer has striven to revivify the dry bones, and to make the
family live again in the story he now presents to his readers.



Chapter 1: The Knight And Squire.


The opening scene of our tale is a wild tract of common land,