INTRODUCTION TO FERN LAND. 



untamed among their native covers. To them the 

 fresh breeze laden with soft perfumes never comes. 

 Hard toil in city workshops, squalid homes in city 

 slums, privation and suffering of every kind, are 

 their lot. Others there are dwellers also in towns 

 and cities who can at times, though rarely, 

 snatch a few hours from their toilsome labours 

 for a brief glimpse at the beautiful in Nature. 

 Others again there are who can devote longer 

 periods to the relaxation and enjoyment 

 afforded by a ramble across country meads and 

 through country lanes, by the silvery waters of 

 the flowing brook, and through the shady wood- 

 land. 



There are still a great many others whose op- 

 portunities for enjoying the country are unlimited. 

 Time and money are at their disposal, and if they 

 do not live in the country, they can at any time 

 and at any season transport themselves thither. 

 To each and to all, to the rich as well as to the 

 poor, and to one no more than to the other, God 

 offers the bounties of the natural world. But how 

 different are the degrees of appreciation of these 

 bounties on the part of those who share them ! 



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