of a mile to the rear, where furze almost exclusively prevailed as a
product.

Every individual was so involved in furze by his method of carrying
the faggots that he appeared like a bush on legs till he had thrown
them down. The party had marched in trail, like a travelling flock of
sheep; that is to say, the strongest first, the weak and young behind.

The loads were all laid together, and a pyramid of furze thirty feet
in circumference now occupied the crown of the tumulus, which was
known as Rainbarrow for many miles round. Some made themselves busy
with matches, and in selecting the driest tufts of furze, others in
loosening the bramble bonds which held the faggots together. Others,
again, while this was in progress, lifted their eyes and swept the
vast expanse of country commanded by their position, now lying nearly
obliterated by shade. In the valleys of the heath nothing save its
own wild face was visible at any time of day; but this spot commanded
a horizon enclosing a tract of far extent, and in many cases lying
beyond the heath country. None of its features could be seen now, but
the whole made itself felt as a vague stretch of remoteness.

While the men and lads were building the pile, a change took place in
the mass of shade which denoted the distant landscape. Red suns and
tufts of fire one by one began to arise, flecking the whole country
round. They were the bonfires of other parishes and hamlets that were
engaged in the same sort of commemoration. Some were distant, and
stood in a dense atmosphere, so that bundles of pale strawlike beams
radiated around them in the shape of a fan. Some were large and near,
glowing scarlet-red from the shade, like wounds in a black hide. Some
were Maenades, with winy faces and blown hair. These tinctured the