MOUNTAINS AND HILLS 



238 



Great Britain have made it a country of hills. 

 Nowhere are they to he seen in such heautif ul 

 combinations, and to them England, in particu- 

 lar, is much indebted for its beautiful scenery. 

 In all seasons, in foliage or with snow, the coun- 

 try of low hills is an attractive country. The 

 charm of Normandy and the Rhine provinces, 

 as of New England, lies in the broken, undu- 

 lating surface. To whatever point of the com- 

 pass we turn there is unity in variety. The 

 amphitheatre of hills surrounding Amherst 

 in Massachusetts does not grow monotonous to 

 those who look out upon it from day to day. The 

 encircling parapets always have a new tale to 

 tell, a new wonder to reveal. No sun gilds 

 them twice in just the same way, no atmosphere 

 is repeated for any two days, and the mantle of 

 green in summer, the robe of white in winter, 

 are never the same from year to year. 



Fortunately enough the round-topped hill, 

 upon which the Assyrian built a city and the 

 mediaeval baron a castle, is to-day left to nature 

 to do with as it pleases. The modern builder 

 places his city on flat ground, and if there is 

 any little mound in his way he levels it into 

 any little valley that may be near at hand. He 

 wishes everything flat and squared in his city, 



