The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1891-02-05

are they now. and where the destruc-
tive guns: | felt thankful that my lot
was cast in more civilized age, when
the pen and platform are considered
more powerful weapon and agency
than the sword or the battle field.
We will now take a seat on a rock IN
the centre Of small fiat constituting
the summit. from which we behold one
Of natures sublimities, of which an at
tempted description would only be an
insult. The gorgeous scene before us.
and over which frolic nature wildly
reigns, is made up Of an undulatng
panoramic landscape of mountains and
vallies, of extensive plains, of hill and
dale and woodland scenery. as far as
the eye can reach. So splendid was
the sight that we gave utterance to the
poetic sentiment that
Every prospect pleases, and only man is
vile"
In the dim distance, and in the shape
of dark suspended cloud, can be seen
far famed Soverdon, the highest noun
tain in the British isles. The extensive
and beautiful plain before us, now di-
vlded up into opulent farms, is sup
posed to be the bed Of a prehistoric
lake, drained by the huge crack or spills
in the land reaching several miles from
the lower corner of the plain, or bed OF
the lake, which science tells us, must
have been rent by some terrific con-
cussion Of nature.
About a mile distant is situated the
village of Churchstoke occupying a
pleasant site Oh the banks of the Cam
lad, near the edge Of the plain and at
the foot of the rising ground which con-
stitutes the base of the mountains; and
there stands the old church still point
ing with her spiral finger the way from
ssearth to heaven" 1t is the same old
sanctuary in which the baptismal
water was sprinkled on my infant
brow. and is surrounded by the conse.
Grated ground where all my fathers lie,
and there at the edge of the village
stands the old school house with an
additional wing surrounded by the
same play ground on which the school
boys played fifty years ago. 1t was in
that same old school house that | was
taught my first lesson in the Sunday.
school. The then young man who took
me between his knees while teaching
me that lesson still lives, STOPPING
under the weight of eighty-five years.
He will always live in my affections.
The dear old Camlad in which we
swan, still flows through fields on
which we fought.
Away down in the valley beneath
us stands the unassuming farm house
where | was an invited guest at the
tea table Of the present occupant. My
feelings were above ''par'' when l re-
membered that my last meal beneath
that old roof was prepared by my
mothers hands upwards of fifty years
ago. Yes, and there at the foot OF
the garden is the very spot where stood
that tall, slim tree. from which fell
some twenty or thirty feet, causing a
broken limb and fractured skull. AT
the same time that little brook was
stained with my ten-year-old blood.
Flow OH, thou gentle rivulet, thy tiny
rumbling is music to my ear; many a
speckled trout and Shiny eel have /
taken from thy pebbly bed.
In yonder woodland park, about ten
miles distant, stands Fowls Castle, a
relic Of feudal times. 1t did not share
the same fate as did similar buildings
throughout the country when Oliver
Cromwell was about here settling up
matters with the feudal Barons after
the Battle of Marston Moor. Possibly
the teudal occupant became scared,
and professed to approve of the de-
capitation of King Charles I. At the
present time it is the ancestral resi-
dence Tor seat as it is generally
called) of Lord Give, who is lord of
the surrounding manor, an unjust sys-
tenn under which England has been
groaning ever since the fatal year of
1906. According to Biblical data the
lease of Gentiles' times expires in the
cventful year of 1914, at which date
the trouble now brewing between la
Dor and capital will eliminate in the
fulfillment of the ''predicted trouble.
such as never was since there was a
nation - ushering in the greatest
social revolution the human race has
ever experienced. Then my noble
lord of Fowls Castle, with the rest of
his feudal brethren, will be placed on
an equal footing with the balance of
their fellow mortals.
About four miles distant, and in full
view, is the Town of Montgomery,
overhung by a precipice, on which
stood another monument of feudal
times. 1t was not so fortunate as its
neighbor of .sPowis''. Its complete
ruins can be seen to-day.
In the old church yard in this town
can be seen the sad effects of case of
mistaken identity in the shape of a
CRASHES grave, called the ''Robber' S
Grave.' of which the following poem,
written by young lady of the neigh
Lnrhood whose family | once knew.
Sngs good description:
THE ROBBERS GRAVE.
the churchyard, green and fair,
e leaves and blossoms wave,
trip of barren earth, It's called
.Lhber's Grave
ltSs it lies remote, no turfy
Y, there to tell the sadly
1otSteps pause, and
pa the tale of why
Sa,at