THE FEBN TAEADISE. 



the far-off distance such is the landscape which 

 lies stretched out before and below us. 



But we turn again towards our glorious lane, 

 which now begins a swift descent, the pathway 

 rapidly narrowing. Hedge- branches again close 

 over our head. Majestic fronds of the Brake, 

 the Male Fern, and the Broad Buckler Fern, 

 brush against us. Our path is now almost ob- 

 structed by the wild and glorious vegetation which 

 clothes the ground. Fern -fronds thicken around ; 

 the thickly-matted growth of the hedge-banks 

 becomes more dense ; the way appears almost 

 barred by a grand specimen of Polysticlmm angu- 

 lar e ; and we stop at the same moment arrested 

 by the fragrant odour from a huge bush of honey- 

 suckle in full flower. Here, for a few yards, the 

 shrubs overhead spread their branches far away 

 from the hedge- top, and the lower portion of the 

 bank on the left reaches back to such a distance 

 as to envelop the ground underneath almost in 

 darkness. In this kindly and congenial shelter 

 the Ferns are growing to grand dimensions, 

 fostered by , the darkness and humidity which 

 prevail under the leafy canopy. 



144 



