Having arrived at the house,
my cousin reined up at the steps of the hall, upon which she, in a
low cautious voice, desired me to alight. Having assisted her out of
her saddle, I was about to utter some exclamation of surprise at the
extreme dilapidation of the place, when she whispered me to be
silent; adding, that I must not stir until she had returned from
within, to announce whether my visit would be accepted or not.
During her absence, I had full leisure to look around and note the
desolate condition of Coote-down. The lawn--thickly overspread with
rank grass--could scarcely be distinguished from the fishpond, which
was completely covered with water-weeds. The shrubbery was choked
and tangled, whilst a very wide rent in the wall laid open to view an
enclosure which had once been a garden, but was now a wilderness.
For a time the sorrowful effect which all this decay produced on my
mind was increased by the extreme solitude which reigned around.
This, however, was presently relieved by a cackling sign of life
which issued from a brood-hen as it flew from the sill of a
side-parlour window.
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