82 LANDSCAPE AND LITERATURE 



and fields, and in abundant patches of coppice and 

 woodland. The country thus wears a verdant park- 

 like aspect, which at once impresses the eye of a 

 stranger who comes here either from the European 

 continent or from America. Undoubtedly cultivation 

 has in the course of long centuries considerably altered 

 the primeval landscapes ; the progress of agriculture 

 having gradually narrowed the area of the once pre- 

 dominant open heaths, while the ancient forests, 

 formerly so abundant and extensive, have wellnigh 

 vanished. There can be little doubt, however, that 

 the general enclosed and cultivated character of the 

 landscapes has, over much of the ground, remained 

 nearly the same as now for hundreds of years. 



One further feature of these English lowlands should 

 be borne in mind. They are washed by the sea along 

 the whole of their eastern and southern borders. 

 Even the most inland part of them is not more 

 than one hundred -miles from the coast. Their long 

 lines of ridge and down stretch to the very margin 

 of the land, where they plunge in picturesque cliffs 

 to the sea-level, as in the headlands of Flamborough, 

 Dover, and Beachy. Moreover the coast-line is in- 

 dented by numerous bays, creeks, and inlets, which, 

 as they allow the sea to penetrate far into the land, 

 furnish many admirable natural harbours. There can 

 be no doubt that this feature in our topography has 

 powerfully fostered that love of the sea which has al- 

 ways been a national characteristic, and has contributed 

 to the development of that maritime power which has 

 led to the establishment of our world-wide empire. 1 



1 See p. z\. 



