308 HAMPSHIRE DAYS 



trees growing in the adjoining field when the morning 

 sunlight was on it. To my mind it looked best when 

 viewed at a distance of sixty to seventy yards across 

 the open grass field with nothing but the sky beyond. 

 At that distance not only could the leaves be distinctly 

 seen, but the acorns as well, abundantly and evenly 

 distributed over the whole tree, appearing as small 

 globes of purest bright apple-green among the deep 

 green foliage. The effect was very rich, as of tapestry 

 with an oak-leaf pattern and colour, sprinkled thickly 

 over with round polished gems of a light-green sewn 

 into the fabric. 



To an artist with a soul in him, the very sight of such 

 a tree in such conditions would, I imagined, make him 

 sick of his poor little ineffectual art. 



