HIDDEN DATES.

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come: CCU (the U counts as V or 5); then follow LUVILIM U J (J for I or 1); then U L U DI. Now to add these up: M of course represents 1000, D 500, the two C's are equal to 200, the three L's make together 150, the five U's and the solitary V make another 30, the four I's count 4. Now, if you will trouble to add all these together you will arrive at 1884, or, if you prefer, you may take my word for it, for I have done the little sum, and a very tedious and complicated way it is of affording information about a trifling matter, but perhaps puzzling out these dates may keep the congregation entertained when the sermon is dull or over long, though for that purpose they were never intended.

There is much other interesting and peculiar information to be gleaned from this little work: as to why the altar is white sometimes, at others red, again purple for a change, and still again green ' when nothing particular is happening'! But I fear, kind reader, that I have already kept you too long in Little Braxted church: let us get out into the open air ; the blue sky and green trees are more delightful to look upon than any painted walls; let us remount the phaeton which awaits us at the corner of the ancient churchyard, and proceed with our pleasant pilgrimage.

The country now became both hilly and well wooded, and, gaining a height, we had a glorious prospect over a vast extent of country, one of those scenic surprises reserved for the wanderer by road. At Great Braxted, the next village we came to (as pretty a rural hamlet as one may meet on a day's drive), we

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noticed the name over the public-house of Wybrew, Brewer. It was rather strange the number of names, appropriate and the reverse to the callings of their possessors, we observed at the various villages and towns we passed through. In one place we noticed that a certain Bywell was an auctioneer, at another Drinkwater was a wine merchant, Deadmon did duty elsewhere as an undertaker; a wayside public-house, with the sign of The Victory, was kept by one H. Nelson, and another, The Traveller's Rest, by I. Boniface.

Just as we were driving out of Great Braxted an amusing little incident took place. An enraged turkey-cock (though how we had enraged him I know not, unless it were that he objected to strangers) placed himself noisily and defiantly, with feathers outspread, in the middle of the road, and actually attempted to dispute the right of way with us; he was even so far successful that he caused the horses to shy badly, which was mischief enough for a bird to make.

Passing through a wild and thinly-peopled country we came to Tiptree Heath, famous in the olden days for its highwaymen, and in more recent times for Mr. Mechi's model farm and his experiments in scientific agriculture. Both now are things of the past.

Tiptree Heath was formerly an extensive wild woodland, broken here and there with heather wastes; indeed in early times it was a portion of the great Forest of Essex that extended from this part, and from miles beyond, to ancient London. The heath is now mostly enclosed and cultivated, it has

therefore lost nearly all of its ancient wildness and rough beauty; wayward Nature has been tamed, hedged in, made more profitable but less pleasing in a picturesque sense.

In the days before railways this sparselyinhabited district was the favourite ground of numerous highwaymen, Dick Turpin, of schoolboy fame, amongst the number. It is recorded of this renowned knight of the road that upon one occasion he overtook a gentleman travelling alone along one of the sequestered highways here. Dick Turpin bade the traveller good-day and asked permission to join him for company and as a better protection against robbers. (Oh, Mr. Turpin!) To this apparently innocent request the stranger readily consented, for he confessed that he too had some fear as to the safety of travelling all alone. It would seem that upon this occasion, contrary to his general habit, Turpin's object was not so much robbery as to learn if by chance the stranger were able to inform him whether the reports spread about were true, that a troop of dragoons had been ordered to scour the country after him. Whether Master Turpin gained the desired information or not I cannot say, but tradition has it that the two strangers as they rode along became quite confidential to each other; Turpin indeed by his artless manner had so won over his companion that he (the said companion) confided to Dick the precautions that he had taken against being robbed on the way. 'You see,' said he innocently, I have had the heels of my boots hollowed out and carry my gold coin tightly packed

there. It is perfectly safe; no one would ever dream of looking in such an unlikely place for it. Capital idea-eh!' 'Excellent,' replied Turpin, who immediately proceeded to improve the occasion, and, to the utter astonishment and chagrin of his fellow traveller, quietly drew forth his pistol and presented it with a bow and a demand that the money so carefully hidden in the heels of the boots should be handed over to him. The highwayman is all very well in a romance, but in reality he was a most undesirable being; his life was in his hands; if he was caught there was the gibbet for him, and if a traveller resisted being robbed the inducement to settle him at once was great, for the highwayman was no worse off. This is the reverse of the medal of the good old times,' when it is on record that a shipwrecked traveller, after landing in safety on an unknown shore, upon discovering a gibbet with a man hanging in chains therefrom, rejoiced at the sight, for then he knew that he had been cast away in a civilised country!

The country opened out as we proceeded, and at last we caught a sight of the ancient tower of Layer Marney Hall. Our map failed us here, but after many windings and twistings, and getting more than once lost in the narrow lanes, we did manage to reach the old mansion. The first near glance at this delighted us, for it was manifest that we had come upon a magnificent and little known specimen of architecture of the bygone days when men built for themselves grand habitations,-the lordly few of the land, that is.