Excerpt from Marmaduke Wyvil or the Maid's Revenge: A Historical Romance Such was the aspect of the hall, on the day following the desperate fight of Worcester, the sounds of which - the dull deep bellowing of the cannon, blent with the harsh dis cordant rattle of the volleying arquebus - had been distinctly heard by its dismayed in habitants. Some symptoms of fresh preparation were there, though, for the most part, slight and ineffective - the creepers had been cut away in places where they had entirely obscured the crenelles; fresh loopholes had been broken in the western wall; a few small cannon, falcons and culverins, were mounted on the parapet; and from an em brasure, which flanked the water gate, the muzzle of a heavy gun was run out, grinning its stern defiance. There was no flag, however, displayed from the walls; no Show of any garrison, not so much even as a solitary sentinel - so that there was no reason to believe the inmates partisans of either of those factions which had so long disturbed the country; or to suppose them capable of any more prolonged defence, than might suffice to heat off the marauders, who, ever profiting by times of civil discord, levied their contributions equally on friend or foe or neutral. South of the moat, the bank of which was fringed with a low shrubby coppice, mostly of ornamental plants and bushes, a park-like meadow dotted with clumps of trees, and full of sunny slopes and cool deep hollows, extended, half a mile perhaps in width, to the high road, from which it was divided by a broad sunk fence and ragged paling and was flanked by the stream, which, strong and deep and rapid, had cut itself a deep gorge through the rich alluvial soil, the sides thickset with broom and furze and brechens, and many a polished holly-bush, and many an ash and alder, forming a dense and seemingly impervious brake. Beyond the river, which the road traversed on an Old one-arched bridge of brick, lay a wide tract of low and swampy woodland; and at the angle of the park, formed by the meeting of the highway and the brook, stood a small fishing house, much overgrown with ivy, but kept in good repair as might be seen by the neat painted lattices, one Of which, standing open, showed a white muslin curtain gracefully looped up, and a small table with a vase of flowers arranged there, evidently by a woman's hand. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.