86 EASY-CHAIR MEMORIES 



development, than the delicate and effeminate 

 attractions of the town. 



My boyhood was spent in an old farmhouse, 

 and I am sure that no boy has led a happier 

 life, or had more really pleasant surroundings 

 than I had for the first fifteen years of my life. 

 My lot was cast in a pleasant place, amid wood- 

 land scenery, green meadows, and near by, a 

 lovely trout stream : 



" Fair scenes of childhood's opening bloom, 



For sportive youth to stray in ; 

 For manhood to enjoy his strength, 

 And age to wear away in ! 



I was in sympathy and harmony with all my 

 surroundings. I knew every bird that haunted 

 the buildings, the hedgerows, and the surround- 

 ing woods. I knew all about their nests and 

 eggs ; and their colour, their markings, and their 

 size disclosed to me their parentage. 



I have, years ago, told in print many of the 

 incidents that memory has brought back to 

 me ; and I may as well tell over again one or 

 two of the small comedies and tragedies in real 

 life which befell me as a little boy. 1 



1 See Fresh Woods and Pastures New, published in 



1887. 



