Excerpt from Gerfaut, Volue Two, And, MilitonaAt the end of the avenue of plane-trees, the bank of the stream formed an escarpment like that upon which the chateau was built, but much steeper and partly wooded. To avoid this spot, which was impassable for vehicles, the road leading up the valley turned to the right and reached the level ground at the summit by a more gradual ascent. There was only a narrow path along the edge of the water, shaded by the branches of the beeches and willows which projected over the stream from the steep hill-side. When you had taken a few steps along this narrow, shady road, you found yourself suddenly confronted by an enormous block of stone, covered in spots with withered moss - a sort of portcullis rolled down by nature from the top of the mountain as if to close the passage.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.