THE FEJiN PARADISE. 



dance does but increase the charm which it flings 

 over bill, woodland, and plain ; and does but 

 testify to the abounding goodness of the Creator 

 in giving us so much to delight the eye and to 

 please the mind. 



That the Bracken is put to vulgar uses may be 

 granted; and that it represents to the vulgar 

 eye more completely, indeed, than any other 

 member of the graceful family to which it belongs 

 the idea of ' a Fern,' we equally concede. But 

 we indignantly repudiate the attempt to fasten the 

 stigma of vulgarity upon the wild Brake. The 

 reproach recoils upon those who invented it ; and 

 the beautiful plant will have its reward in the 

 keen appreciation of the true Fern- lover. 



We have said that the Brake is to be found 

 almost everywhere. The general fact is a suffi- 

 cient indication of its hardiness. But under 

 such conditions alone as Ferns love is it to be 

 found growing in full spendour, and endowed with 

 all its natural grace and beauty. Alike on the 

 wild open common, in the dark shade of the 

 woodland, by the glancing waters of our streams, 

 perched on the hedge-tops, swathed in the deep 



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