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SIGHTS AND ANTIQUITIES 79 English, officials—an accomplished classical scholar and a student of mediaeval history, especially of such history as touched the romance of Cyprus—in whom at once I discerned a kindred spirit. For him, as for myself, I found that the place was haunted, that mediœval hawking parties went with him as he rode over the plains ; that classical forests were green for him on the bare valleys and mountains, and that in their recesses Adonis still went hunting. He told me more in twenty minutes of the things I cared to know than I had learnt hitherto from all other sources of information. I asked him if any castles existed still in the country, and if there were any recognisable fragments of the Latin abbeys I had dreamed about. To both of these questions he answered, yes. He gave me the names of six or seven castles instantly, three of which were perched on the tops of mountains, where their halls and towers now had few visitors but the clouds. My imagina-tion, it seemed, could have asked for nothing better, whilst as for abbeys, in one instance at least, there were more than fragments remaining ; there was a building almost perfect. My new friend, whom I will speak of as Mr. Matthews, walked home with us, and added to the interest he had excited in me by telling me that he lived in a house which originally was the Latin archbishop's palace. I mentioned the coats of arms to him which I had been noticing that morn-ing. This was a subject with which he was quite

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