THE TREES ON THE LAND My search for an estate provided us with an excuse for visiting all sorts of out-of-the-way places, and scraping acquaintance with all sorts of curious people.

In some villages we were greeted with unbounded glee; in others with a sullen, gruff endurance far from welcome.

But, though the flavour of reception varied, we were everywhere received with some degree of hospitality, and shown what we desired to see.

Thus we surveyed a great variety of properties, none of which fulfilled my chief requirements.

I wanted both a house in which I should not feel ashamed to live, and cultivable land enough to yield a revenue; and the two together seemed impossible to find, at least for the sum of money which was placed at my disposal.
One piece of land attracted us so much that we remained in the adjacent village a full week, returning every day to wander over it, trying to see if it could not be made to fit my needs.