THE COUNTRY HOME [chaffer 



Then an agent comes along, and sells four white, 

 cut-leaved, weeping birches, and these are set out 

 in another exhibition row; but birds never nest in 

 them. Then the folks bethink themselves of a 

 row of evergreens, which they keep trimmed into 

 solid cones, such as a good mechanic might turn 

 out of wood and paint green and set in rows across 

 the lawn. Finally, two weeping willows are set in 

 front of the house, expressive of nature's grief over 

 such ludicrous notions of the beautiful. The only 

 salvation of such a place is that, by and by, neglect 

 will kill cut four-fifths of the trees, and the rest, 

 being left out of line, make a tolerable lawn. Learn, 

 first of all, that nature abhors conventionalism; 

 never repeats herself; does not inquire what folks 

 will say; gets in love with beauty and truth, and 

 then plants her nooks and corners for no other 

 reason in the world than that she loves the beauti- 

 ful and the true. Those who have not been born 

 again to see the world about them, who really have 

 no acquaintances among the trees, no friends 

 among the birds, constitute a class by themselves. 

 I will not say that they are degenerate, but they 

 certainly are incapacitated for comprehending 

 Out of Doors. 



[366] 



