Mrs. Henry Wood 
Court Netherleigh 
A Novel

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. In the midst of the Berkshire scenery, so fair and wealthy, this pleasant little place, Netherleigh, nestled in a sylvan hollow. It was only a small, unpretending hamlet at its best, and its rustic inhabitants were hard-working and simple.<br><br>On a wide extent of country, surrounded on all sides as far as tho eye could reach, with its forests, its hills and valleys, its sparkling streams, sat many a noble mansion of ancient or modern architecture, and of more or less note in the county. Farm homesteads might be seen, surrounded by their out-buildings, their barns and substantial hay-ricks. Labourers‘ cottages were dotted about; and the men themselves toiled at their several occupations.<br><br>Flanking the village, and looking down upon it from its eminence, rose the stately walls of Court Netherleigh: an imposing and beautiful edifice, with which none of the other mansions in the distance could compare. It was built of red brick, curious but bright-looking, and its gables and angles were quaint and picturesque in a high degree. Winding upwards from tho village, you came upon the entranco-gates on the left of the road-great gates of wrought iron, with two smaller gates beside them.