London: Northumberland Avenue, W.C.
IN THE
DAYS OF QUEEN MARY
CHAPTER I
CHIDDINGLY PLACE
The sun was setting, and a rosy light filtered through the trees which enshrouded Chiddingly Place.
The cawing of the rooks, as they winged their leisurely flight into the great rookery, alone broke the silence which sweetly brooded over the broad terrace on which two Sussex boys lay extended on the velvety turf. It was Midsummer Day—a day of unbroken sunshine and excessive heat.
In the evening a refreshing wind had revived the parched earth, and the gay flowers which spangled the wide-spreading lawn were lifting their drooped heads with renewed life.