He plunged at once into undergrowth, somewhat of the thickest; and the
Colonel, who had fallen into deep musings, followed him unheedingly.

"I would rather have an omelette here and home-made bread, and a chair
to sit down in, than go further for a sofa, truffles, and Bordeaux
wine at Cassan."

This outburst of enthusiasm on the Councillor's part was caused by the
sight of the whitened wall of a house in the distance, standing out in
strong contrast against the brown masses of knotted tree-trunks in the
forest.

"Aha! This used to be a priory, I should say," the Marquis d'Albon
cried once more, as they stood before a grim old gateway. Through the
grating they could see the house itself standing in the midst of some
considerable extent of park land; from the style of the architecture
it appeared to have been a monastery once upon a time.

"Those knowing rascals of monks knew how to choose a site!"

This last exclamation was caused by the magistrate's amazement at the
romantic hermitage before his eyes. The house had been built on a spot
half-way up the hillside on the slope below the village of Nerville,
which crowned the summit. A huge circle of great oak-trees, hundreds
of years old, guarded the solitary place from intrusion. There
appeared to be about forty acres of the park. The main building of the
monastery faced the south, and stood in a space of green meadow,
picturesquely intersected by several tiny clear streams, and by larger
sheets of water so disposed as to have a natural effect. Shapely trees
with contrasting foliage grew here and there. Grottos had been