In the first number of these papers we pointed out the fact that the cottages and small houses in fortified villages exhibited a totally different character from those in open and unwalled villages. Owing to the space being confined within the walls, any increase in the number of inhabitants had either to be provided with accommodation by adding to the height of the existing habitations or by setting up dwelling-houses in out-of-the-way places. Our sketch of Lyme Regis shows the outlet of a river which here flows into the sea; the fortified walls are continued along the banks; the principal street of the village is carried over the river by a bridge consisting of a lofty and elegantly proportioned Gothic arch, evidently of thirteenth century date. Cottages or small habitations cling to the walls supported upon wooden corbels, and are bracketed out from the parapets of the bridge, giving the latter more the effect of a gateway than of a bridge. The whole scene is strange though very picturesque, and those who are accustomed to the ordinary English village, with its detached cottages, surrounded by gardens, are naturally surprised at the singular effect brought about by such changed conditions. Those, however, who know the fortified villages of Germany, France, and the Low Countries, are quite familiar with such scenes, and regard them as usual in villages prepared for war, as contrasted with the ordinary villages of our country where peace was the normal condition. [Illustration: GEORGIAN COTTAGE, AMERSHAM.]