NATURE IN ENGLAND. 31 



is an elemental composure and moderation in things 

 that leave their mark everywhere, a sort of ele- 

 mental sweetness and docility that are a surprise and 

 a charm. One does not forget that the evolution of 

 man probably occurred in this hemisphere, and time 

 would seem to have proved that there is something 

 here more favorable to his perpetuity and longevity. 



The dominant impression of the English landscape 

 is repose. Never was such a restful land to the eye, 

 especially to the American eye, sated as it is very 

 apt to be with the mingled squalor and splendor of 

 its own landscape, its violent contrasts, and general 

 spirit of unrest. But the completeness and com- 

 posure of this out-door nature is like a dream. It ia 

 like the poise of the tide at its full : every hurt of 

 the world is healed, every shore covered, every un- 

 sightly spot is hidden. The circle of the horizon is 

 brimming with the green equable flood. (I did not 

 see the fens of Lincolnshire nor the wolds of York.) 

 This look of repose is partly the result of the matur- 

 ity and ripeness brought about by time and ages of 

 patient and thorough husbandry, arid partly the result 

 of the gentle, continent spirit of Nature herself. She 

 is contented, she is happily wedded, she is well 

 clothed and fed. Her offspring swarm about her, 

 her paths have fallen in pleasant places. The foliage 

 of the trees, how dense and massive ! The turf of 

 the fields, how thick and uniform ! The streams and 

 rivers, how placid and full, showing no devastated 

 margins, no widespread sandy wastes and unsightly 



