Indeed, there is
a frightful chasm, a few miles from the Hall, which goes by the name
of the Squire's Leap, from his having cleared it in the ardour of the
chase; there can be no doubt of the fact, for old Christy shows the
very dints of the horse's hoofs on the rocks on each side of the
chasm.
Master Simon holds the memory of this squire in great veneration, and
has a number of extraordinary stories to tell concerning him, which he
repeats at all hunting dinners; and I am told that they wax more and
more marvellous the older they grow. He has also a pair of Rippon
spurs which belonged to this mighty hunter of yore, and which he only
wears on particular occasions.
The place, however, which abounds most with mementos of past times, is
the picture gallery; and there is something strangely pleasing, though
melancholy, in considering the long rows of portraits which compose
the greater part of the collection. They furnish a kind of narrative
of the lives of the family worthies, which I am enabled to read with
the assistance of the venerable housekeeper, who is the family
chronicler, prompted occasionally by Master Simon. There is the
progress of a fine lady, for instance, through a variety of portraits.
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