, about twenty miles
only from Edgehill, where, in 1642, twelve hundred men are reported to
have fallen. It is said that on the night of the anniversary of the
battle, October 23, in each succeeding year the uneasy ghosts of the
combatants resume the unfinished struggle, and that the clash of arms
is still to be heard rising and falling between hill and vale. The
worthy couple must have almost heard the echoes of the Battle of
Worcester in 1651, only eighteen miles distant, and have been well
acquainted with the details of the flight of Charles II., who, after
he left Boscobel, passed very near Aldington on his way to the old
house at Long Marston, where he spent a night, and, to complete his
disguise, turned the kitchen spit. This old house is still standing,
and is regarded with reverence.
The cherub on the Jarrett tablet bears a strong resemblance to two
similar cherubs which support a royal crown carved on the back of an
old walnut chair which I bought in the village in a cottage near the
Manor House. The design is well known as commemorating the restoration
of Charles II. in 1660, and I like to think that in bringing it back I
restored it to its old home, and that William Jarrett, senr., who was
doubtless a Royalist, enjoyed a peaceful pipe on many a winter's night
therein enthroned. I noticed, lately, in a description of a similar
chair in the _Connoisseur_, that the cherubs are spoken of as
_amorini_; I have always understood that they are angelic beings
supporting or guarding the sacred crown of the martyred King, though
possibly the appellation is not unsuitable if they are to be regarded
in connection with Charles II.
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