The Argosy — page 62: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

In the New Forest. AQ We turned to the left and ascended the hill towards Minstead, but looked in vain far down the glades for the red deer, once so plentiful in the Forest, subsequently so scarce, and now once more flourishing in numbers. It was the wrong time of the day for them; they seldom show themselves except at early morning or late evening. Minstead has in itself no especial feature, except a small, quaint old church, and a primitive, very clean-looking inn. Its sign, “‘ The Trusty Servant,” hung high up, a copy of the figure to be found in the entry of the kitchen at St. Mary’s College, Winchester: a curious compound of a man, a hog, a deer, and an ass. We were now more than half-way on our road. Turning to the left, we ascended the hill, still with the grand trees about us, long stretches of views into the interior of the Forest. Birds were maki =< - L —— = ee ee A = “fs Gays: "y Ye AN we" Ms 4 / 1 bi yr fs \ if! pi l; by ss f MS) f ; ri oe ESS igen NC Sal e ys SS =< = — , { RSs ALI \ i 4 S =~ ; Y ~ - SS eS I vt BPO iil j _ IDM) 4 <7 i iW ti! j iy } i \ mT 1 H if! q] H iT of Tet =~ ‘t ‘i SN } ; | iit U ra : ——— ema! . At {Wee ae gat ei Ly te =~ SS 4 \ , oe BiH ——\ > AE VA AALS je = = ; y it aw DRS bad yA Ky ~ > Dh Z A — — THE COMFTON ARMS. chattering and squirrels were jumping from bough to bough; fern fronds and bracken obstructed one’s path in loveliest but some- what irritating confusion, causing a longing for a whole forest of deer to eat up a pathway at least, and make one’s way through the thickets a little less difficult. Every now and then a stream, heard but unseen, sent forth its musical sound, a constant rippling and murmuring: forest voices that almost seemed to make more palpable the utter silence and solitude that surrounded us. Reaching the top of the hill, we came upon a clear open space, a ridge commanding one of the most magnificent views in the New Forest. In the far distance might be seen the calm, sparkling Southampton Water, twelve miles cff; the Isle of Wight beyond. On the right was spread out a rich carpet of trees, wave upon wave of billowy verdure, gradually sloping into a valley, more lovely than ever to-day, with every varying tone of autumn: a wealth of gorgeous colouring, every imaginable tint of brown, yellow, and VOL. XXXI. E cConniclooolkks (C(O)