THOUGHTS FROM WRITINGS 



from the clods. — 'The Open Air': Out 

 of Doors in February. 



THE lover of nature has the 

 highest art in his soul. So 

 I think the bluff English 

 farmer who takes such pride and delight 

 in his dogs and horses is a much greater 

 man of art than any Frenchman pre- 

 paring, with cynical dexterity of hand, 

 some coloured presentment of flashy 

 beauty for the Salon. The English girl 

 who loves her horse— and English girls 

 do love their horses most intensely— is 

 infinitely more artistic in that fact than 

 the cleverest painter on enamel. They 

 who love nature are the real artists; 

 the 'artists' are copyists.— 'The Open 

 Air ' : Outside London. 



AS a few strokes from a loving 

 hand will soothe a weary fore- 

 L head, so the gentle pressure of 

 the wild grass soothes and strokes away 



20 



