A clear atmosphere, indicative either of
rain or frost, disclosed a vast tract of wild, flat, ill-cultivated-looking
country to the south, little interrupted by woods or signs of population;
the whole losing itself, as it were, in an indistinct grey outline,
commingling with the fleecy white clouds in the distance.
'Here we be,' observed Watson, with a nod towards where a tarnished
red-and-gold flag, floated, or rather flapped lazily in the winter's
breeze, above an irregular mass of towers, turrets, and odd-shaped
chimneys.
[Illustration]
Jawleyford Court was a fine old mansion, partaking more of the character of
a castle than a Court, with its keep and towers, battlements, heavily
grated mullioned windows, and machicolated gallery. It stood, sombre and
grey, in the midst of gigantic but now leafless sycamores--trees that had
to thank themselves for being sycamores; for, had they been oaks, or other
marketable wood, they would have been made into bonnets or shawls long
before now. The building itself was irregular, presenting different sorts
of architecture, from pure Gothic down to some even perfectly modern
buildings; still, viewed as a whole, it was massive and imposing; and as
Mr.
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