CHAPTER III. 



FERNY RAMBLES IN SOUTH DEVON. 



"\ 1 7HAT can be more delightful for the tired 

 and jaded dwellers in our crowded cities 

 after dragging on an unhealthy existence during 

 the long winter months within the domain of 

 bricks and mortar, than a swift journey away out 

 of the smoke, the bustle, the din, and the worry 

 of city life, in the joyous month of May ? A swift 

 journey it must be, so that the disagreeable 

 surroundings of the town may be rapidly left 

 behind and the loveliness of the fields and hedge- 

 rows may as rapidly burst on the tired eyes 

 tired, that is to say, of the stale sight of paved 

 streets and tall houses, but eager, with an inex- 

 pressible eagerness, for the trees and green lanes 

 of the country. 



