HINDRANCES AND HELPS 



sea; always a charming view indeed, though 

 we toiled straight toward it, in broad sunshine ; 

 but the winding through the coppice, unsus- 

 pecting, — busied with ferns and lichens, and 

 shut in by dark overgrowth against any 

 glimpse of sky, — makes it tenfold ravishing. 



What if such walks be not nicely gravelled 

 — what if you come upon no grubbing garden- 

 ers? If only they be easy and serviceable, I 

 love their rain stains, and their fine mosses 

 creeping into green mats ; I love their irregular 

 borders, with a fern or a gentian nodding over 

 the bounds — a pretty sylvan welcome to your 

 tread. There are little foot-paths I know, — 

 only beaten by the patter of young feet, — 

 winding away through lawn or orchard to 

 some favorite apple tree, — frequented most, 

 after some brisk wind-storm has passed over, 

 — that I think I admire more than any 

 gravelled walks in the world. 



And there are other simple foot-paths, which 

 I remember loitering through day after day, 

 in the rural districts of England, with a sense 

 of enjoyment, that never belonged to saunter- 

 ings in the alleys of Versailles. 



A man does not know England, or English 

 landscape, or English country feeling, until he 

 has broken away from railways, from cities, 



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