The park is divided by fences of strained wire, which are inconspicuous at a distance, and found cheaper than any other fence whatever; they also enable the proprietor to graze the park as conveniently as if it were in fields divided by hedges. The great novelty and charm of Nettlecombe are, that, the house being situated in a bottom, the scenery on every side is looked up to, instead of being looked over; the effect of which, united with the immense masses of wood, is romantic in a very high degree. Some of the valleys are so deep, that the sun does not shine into them, for between two and three months every winter. In consequence of the bold undulations and deep valleys, the shadows produced by the varying position of the sun are continually changing; increasing in one place and diminishing in another, so as to form a perpetual variety, greatly heightened by the groups formed by the deer. The church and churchyard at Nettlecombe are close to the house. The former is kept in excellent repair; as are the family monuments, some of which existed as far back as the time of the crusades. The churchyard is a model of neatness. There is a paved space, about 18 in. broad, and nearly on a level, all round the walls of the church; and beyond it there is a small gutter which carries off all the rain water to one point; thus forming a proper architectural base to the building. The ground is surrounded and intersected by gravel walks, and the graves are so arranged that there are grass paths between them, by walking on which every grave may be examined without stepping over any. By this means a higher character of sanctity is given to this place of final repose; and it would be well if it could be imitated in churchyards everywhere. The late Sir John Trevelyan ordered, by his will, that he should be buried beneath a large yew tree in the churchyard, and not in the church; in which feeling we participate, considering the idea of burying in vaults as unfitted for the present enlightened age. Having a great respect for the antiquity of families, a long descent of ancestry being one of the few things which no human exertions, no wealth, and not even-chance can procure, we were much gratified by a sight of the Trevelyan family papers, from the time of Edward I.; almost all of which were in excellent preservation. Among the oldest of these were many permissions from the church to eat meat during Lent; and one pardon from Henry VIII. to a Trevelyan for killing a man in chance-medley. Tradition, however, traces back the family much higher than the written records; as it is said that the head of a swimming horse, in the family arms, relates to a Trevelyan who was on one of the Scilly Islands when it sank in 850, and that he saved himself by swimming on shore on horseback.
