BRADING CHURCHYARD. 193 "There's the verses Little Jane read, when she came out into the churchyard, and liked them so well that she learned them." These fine verses have been set to music in England. Forgive, blest shade! the tributary tear That mourns thy exit from a world like this; No more confined to grovelling scenes of night; And trace thy journey to the realms of day! The sexton showed me the interior of the church, which he said was begun in 704-1148 years old! In the chancel is a stone effigy stretched over the tomb of a great personage who had been in the Holy War, if I understood the sexton. These effigies, in full armour, after the mode of feudal days, are strange looking enough. The Oglanders are buried here. The church is remarkable for what the Rev. Dr. Milnor (who visited it in 1830) calls " a helter-skelter arrangement of pews." He might have said disarrangement. They are high enough to bury their sitting occupants, and without one particle of paint, much less sumptuous purple cushions. Not a few of the ancient worshippers have made a good exchange from earthly pews to heavenly mansions. The neat organ was reared by the exertions of Mr. Richmond, "who was very fond of music," said the sexton. On asking him if the present incumbent was liked as well as Mr. Richmond, whom he had often heard, he only shook his head. The pulpit stands in the nave. "Can I go into it?" "Certainly you can," said he. Seeing is believing, but touching is knowing. I always had an feeling of satisfaction in standing on any remarkable spot, tangible sense being strongest. From this old pine pulpit once sounded out the voice of one of the most eloquent, faithful, and successful heralds of the cross in modern times. Though dead, he still speaketh, by the power of his exalted piety, and the wide-spread Annals of the Poor. Their healing leaves have been wafted forth in more than twenty languages of the earth to millions of mankind; but the number of "the sacramental host" guided to realms of upper day by this "light sown for the righteous," will not be known till the harvest of light on that day "when the Lord writeth up the people." The Emperor Alexander was so pleased with the Annals of the Poor presented to him by Mr. Richmond, that he sent him a superb ring as a testimonial. On carefully comparing the surrounding scenery with Mr. Richmond's description, I found it beautifully true to nature ; and the reader will be glad to look at a landscape painting by a master-hand. "Eastward of us extended a large river or lake of sea-water, (Brading Haven,) chiefly formed by the tide, and nearly inclosed by land. Beyond this was a fine bay and road for ships, filled with vessels of every size, from the small sloop or cutter to the first-rate man-of-war. On the right hand of the haven rose a hill of peculiarly beautiful form and considerable height. Its verdure was very rich, and many hundreds of sheep grazed upon its sides and summit. From the opposite shore of the same water, a large sloping extent of bank was diversified with fields, woods, hedges, and cottages. At its extremity stand, close to the edge of the sea itself, the remains of the tower of an ancient church, still preserved as a sea-mark. Far beyond the bay a very distant shore was observable, and land beyond it; trees, towns, and other buildings appeared, more especially when gilded by the reflected rays of the sun. To the southwestward of the garden was another down, covered also with flocks of sheep, and a portion of it fringed with trees. At the foot of this hill lay the village, a part of which gradually ascended to the rising ground on which the church stood. From the intermixture of houses with gardens, orchards, and trees, it presented a very pleasing aspect. Several fields adjoined the garden on the east and north, where a number of cattle were pasturing. My own little shrubberies and ROMANTIC SCENERY. 195 flower-beds variegated the view, and recompensed my toil in rearing them, as well by their beauty as their fragrance.” Here he sent the parish children out into the churchyard to learn epitaphs, which they eagerly learned from the numerous gravestones, and recited to him. Every tombstone was to him an edifying leaf in this book of instruction. After resting awhile at a house near the churchyard, I left this spot of sacred interest, and journeyed a couple of miles down the vale to Sandown Bay and fort; but the heat and fatigue caused me to return to Brading. In an hour I found a carrier's van going from thence to Ventnor, about ten miles. The driver was an obliging man, but it was not his fault that he was not as intelligent. We had some free desultory talk about England, France, and the United States, during brief intervals of our ride over the steep romantic hills and thrifty vales. "But if, for instance," said he, "there should be war between England and France, would the States interfere?" "Surely not: what have we to do with neighbours' quarrels ?" "Do you say so?" said he, with some surprise. "Well, that's what they all say." After a pause, he added, "Paris, I believe is in New-York?" I never had a heart to laugh at another's misfortune, especially when not selfentailed; but I was so taken by surprise, that my gravity was fairly upset by such a droll, stolid speech. I felt his mortification on seeing a lady passenger smile; and I had to bite my lips to suppress and punish a rising laugh. The irregular circumference of the island is perhaps sixty miles, and was once covered with woods. It is rather undulating than hilly, though a range of hills, or "downs," as they are called, runs from east to west, a few of them of considerable height. Few woods are seen; but now and then we catch a view of a fine park, such as that of Appuldurcombe. The fields are inclosed with hedge-rows, along which is here and there a stately elm. A succession of the most pleasing and varied scenery delights, and often surprises the bewil |