THOUGHTS FROM WRITINGS 



nature of the aristocrat that permeates 

 the cottager, but the nature of the cot- 

 tager that permeates the aristocrat. 

 The best of us are polished cottagers. 

 Scratch deep enough, and you come to 

 that ; so that to know a people, go to 

 the cottage, and not to the mansion.— 

 'Field and Hedgerow': Cottage Ideas. 



NATURE would go on though 

 under the thumb of the north 

 wind. Poor folk came out of 

 the towns to gather ivy-leaves for sale 

 in the streets to make button-holes. 

 Many people think the ivy-leaf has a 

 pleasant shape ; it was used of old time 

 among the Greeks and Romans to 

 decorate the person at joyous festivals. 

 The ivy is frequently mentioned in the 

 classic poets. Not so with the country 

 woman in the villages to-day, ground 

 down in constant dread of that hateful 

 workhouse system of which I can find 



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