346 



English Cottage Scenery. 



Vol. VI. 



From Jesse's Gleanings. 



English Cottas:e Scenery. 



" Sweet was the sound when oft, at evening's close, 

 Up yonder hill the village-niurniur rose; 

 There as I pass'd, with careless steps and slow, 

 The mingling notes came soften'd from below ; 

 The swain, responsive as the milk maid sung, 

 The sober herd that low'd to meet their young, 

 The noisy geese that gabbled o'er the pool, 

 The playful children just let loose from school, 

 The watch-dog's noise, that hay'd the whispering wind, 

 And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind — 

 These, all in sweet confusion sought the shade. 

 And fiU'd each pause the nightingale had made." 



Ooldsmith. 



There is something unspeakably pleasing 

 in rural sounds and rural objects; the noise 

 of village boys playing at their various games, 

 the cawing of rooks in a still evening, the 

 distant tread of a horse, the sheep bells, and 

 even the village clock, are all pleasant! I 

 like to see the cows going to be milked, and 

 inhale with satisfaction the fresh and fragrant 

 perfume which one perceives as they pass by : 

 those that have calves are always in advance, 

 and show their impatience to reach their 

 young by an occasional bellow and a short 

 run, and then a sudden stop to listen whether 

 they can hear the call of their calves; if they 

 do, how eagerly do they advance to the gate 

 of the farm-yard and show the utmost anxiety 

 to have admittance ! The clean, well-scoured 

 milk-pails and churns are delightful objects; 

 and while the process of milking is going for- 

 ward in a well-littered farm-yard, the cows 

 quietly chew the cud, and appear contented 

 and happy. Those, however, which have 

 been recently deprived of their young ones, 

 show a reluctance to give down their milk, 

 and many retain it, from a maternal feeling 

 that their offspring may require it 



On a fine summer's day, we hear the tink- 

 ling of pans and shovels, to persuade a swarm 

 of bees to settle in some cottage-garden, and 

 are pleased with the whetting of the scythe 

 in a neighbouring meadow; while the gob- 

 bling of the turkey, the peevish call of the 

 guinea-fowl, and the cry of young pigs for 

 their evening meal, are pleasing sounds to 

 those who delight in the country. I love 

 also, the village church — the peasant enters 

 in his clean frock, smooths down his hair, 

 says, or appears to say, a word in his hat, 

 which he then carefully and deliberately 

 hangs up, and then leans with crossed arms 

 over the door of the pew until the service 

 begins ; and both before and after church, he 

 may be seen standing with his back against 

 the low wall of the church-yard, with the 

 hand of a favourite child or grandchild in his, 

 talking over the village news; and as the 

 squire or clergyman pass, he touches his hat 

 to them with respect and affection ; and in 

 the evening he may be seen with his cottage- 

 door open, drinking tea with his wife and chil- 



dren, and then sauntering about with them, 

 picking flowers either in his garden or some 

 village lane. The good old squire hobbles 

 out of church, leaning on the arm of his 

 daughter, and kindly inquiring afler the wel- 

 fare of all about him ; he sends food and 

 money to the sick and needy, makes up quar- 

 rels as a magistrate, maintains a well-ordered 

 Sunday-school, and promotes the happiness of 

 the villagers by every means in his power. 

 If, on returning from church, he meets a 

 smoking dinner going to a cottage, from the 

 village bake-house, he generally slips a shil- 

 ling into the hand of the bearer, as his quota 

 in some charitable fund ; I must, however, 

 add, he sometimes slyly takes a good-looking 

 potatoe out of the dish, which he eats with 

 evident satisfaction. 



The welfare of the labouring population of 

 the country, is a subject which interests the 

 naturalist as well as every other good man; 

 it is intimately connected with almost eve<ry- 

 thing which makes the country delightful, 

 and enhances the pleasure of the rural walk. 

 To be greeted with smiling, happy faces, to 

 see the insides of cottages clean and orderly, 

 the outside decorated with flowers and well- 

 cultivated and flourishing gardens, never fails 

 to produce sensations of pleasure and satisfao 

 tion: and if, in addition, a fat pig is found in 

 the sty, it is a proof that the family is thriv- 

 ing, and that the head of it is an industrious, 

 sober man. Happily, such cottages may still 

 be seen in every village in England, affording 

 to the neighbourhood an useful and instruc- 

 tive example of the benefits to be derived from 

 good order, industry and sobriety. But it must 

 be confessed that the reverse of all this is too 

 often witnessed, although I have seldom found 

 an instance of a sober, industrious, steady man, 

 who could not get work, fairly paid for: but 

 haunts of vice and facilities for drunkenness 

 have been multiplied to a frightful degree, 

 and those, whose examples should check the 

 vice and improve the moral condition of the 

 lower classes, are too often poisoning the 

 sources from which their own wealth and 

 power are derived. In a certain village, 

 where attention has been paid to the morals 

 and well-being of the population, the most 

 beneficial results may be seen ; the beer-shops 

 are less frequented, and of course the poor's- 

 rate is low ; the services of the sabbath are 

 well attended, and the labouring class have 

 little to complain of; everything appears com- 

 fortable and flourishing; poverty has been 

 excluded, every one looks happy and con- 

 tented, and the whole village is a picture of 

 neatness and prosperity ; the church is kept 

 in repair, and has been enlarged, school-rooma 

 have been built, and various improvements 

 made in the village, ail by voluntary subscrip- 

 tions ; some of them by persons residing out 



