The contemplation of this Castle, at any period of the day, is calculated to make a lasting impression; but when the rising moon shot her mellow light through its old shattered casements, and the breeze seemed to waken at the same instant and set all the ivy in motion, the scene became still more impressive. Among the deep shadows that invested the spacious courts, every prominent object was now brought suddenly into view; and, with a little aid from fancy, the waving of plumes, and the flashing of steel armour, seemed distinctly visible on the battlements; while the fragments of crumbling masonry that lay scattered below, as if struck by an enchanter’s wand, presented the semblance of animated groups, that waited only the word of command to start into life and motion. The stillness, too, which but half an hour before had pervaded every court and tower, was succeeded by a soft rustling among the leaves, that now flickered like quicksilver as the moonlight fell upon them, and then lost itself in their massive branches; whilst the shrubs and flowers that grew wild and vigorous in every court, or clambered up the walls and archways, seemed to give forth their mingled odours to the night wind, as it passed wooingly through their leaves, and filled the air with incense. “We seemed to tread on faëry land; For, in every thing around us, We felt the touch of a viewless hand, And we heard the notes of a seraph band, Whose magic spell had bound us; While bright yclad, as in days of yore, <g>The Knight of Raglan</g> strode before.” The Pitched-court; the hall of state, with its magnificent bay-window; the chapel; the fountain-court, with the grand staircase on the south side opening upon it; then the elegant portal leading to the grand terrace that overlooks <g>Raglan church</g>, were all traversed in succession, with nothing to distract attention, or disturb the solitude, but the whistle of a night-hawk, or the sound of our own footsteps on the grassy carpet, that now forms the universal ‘pavement’ of these once sumptuous apartments. For over the once tesselated floor, and the tapestried walls, weeds have thrown an oblivious mantle, while-- “Ha, ha!” laughs the Ivy, “old Time to me Hath given the glory and mastery! So poets may sing, if it like them well, From early matins till vesper bell; And others may list to their minstrelsie-- I’ve a song of my own--so what care I? Your <g>castles</g>, though stately, and strong, and tall, _I_ conquer them all--_I conquer them all_!” But as the faint outline here sketched will be filled up when we take the architectural features of the <g>Castle</g> in detail, we pass on to a few preliminary remarks. [Illustration: Ancient armour.[196]]