CHARM OF THE COUNTRY 311 



charming ornament in a country house than a large 

 plate laden with various kinds embedded in moss, 

 the charm is a very short-lived one. 



The ever-shortening days of the Autumn remind 

 us distinctly that the days of Summer are being 

 rapidly left behind us, and that Winter is coming 

 on apace. The boisterous vigour of March ; April 

 smiling through its tears ; May so full of promise ; 

 the glorious months of June, July, and August ; the 

 fruitful September have all received at many hands 

 due recognition of their charms, but as to the other 

 months the general feeling appears to be that they 

 are periods to be lived through as endurably as 

 may be, but that toleration is as much as they may 

 hope for ; the lyre of the poet is unstrung, and as 

 effectually packed away till the longer days as the 

 cricket bats and lawn tennis paraphernalia. 



This lack of appreciation springs, we think, from 

 the fact that so many of the writers and others who 

 mould public opinion are dwellers in the town. 

 No one who has not lived the year round far from 

 the smoke, busy traffic and bustle of city life can at 

 all realise that the sky may be as blue in January as 

 in June ; while the snow, instead of being the foul 

 mixture that is such an unmitigated nuisance in big 

 towns, is spread over everything in a broad sheet of 

 glittering whiteness that is almost dazzling in its 

 purity, while at other times, in the clear atmosphere 

 of the country, when every twig of tree and bush is 



