Shortly after leaving the town, the ascent of a two-mile hill brought us
to a stretch of upland road which ran for several miles along a
tableland lying between pleasantly diversified valleys sloping on either
side. From this a long, gradual descent led directly into Farnham, the
native town of William Cobbett. The house where he was born and lived as
a boy is still standing as "The Jolly Farmers' Inn." One may see the
little house which was the birthplace of the Rev. Augustus Toplady,
whose hymn, "Rock of Ages," has gained world-wide fame. On the hill
overlooking the town is the ancient castle, rebuilt in the Sixteenth
Century and from that time one of the palaces of the bishops of
Winchester. Here, too, lingers one of the ubiquitous traditions of King
Charles I, who stopped at Vernon House in West Street while a prisoner
in the hands of the Parliamentarians on their way to London. A silk cap
which the king presented to his host is proudly shown by one of the
latter's descendants, who is now owner of the house.

One must be well posted on his route when touring Britain or he will
pass many things of note in sublime ignorance of their existence. Even
the road-book is not an infallible guide, for we first knew that we were
passing through Chawton when the postoffice sign, on the main street of
a straggling village, arrested our attention. We were thus reminded that
in this quiet little place the inimitable Jane Austin had lived and
produced her most notable novels, which are far more appreciated now
than in the lifetime of the authoress. An old woman of whom we inquired
pointed out the house--a large square building with tiled roof, now used
as the home of a workingmen's club. Less than two miles from Chawton,
though not on the Winchester road, is Selborne, the home of Gilbert
White, the naturalist, and famed as one of the quaintest and most
retired villages in Hampshire.