vi PREFACE 



allowed to interrupt the monotony of counting-house, 

 factory, or mine ; while, strangest of all, fashion 

 has decreed that the fairest half of the year can 

 only be spent in an overgrown, smoky town, built 

 chiefly on swampy ground, lying along a muddy 

 estuary. 



Nevertheless, even the competitive exactions of 

 business and social pleasure have their reaction. An 

 increasing number of people are turning with in- 

 terest to the eternal industry in Nature's workshop, 

 willing to listen to those who will talk about it. 

 This is a hopeful sign to those who believe that 

 the social health and physical standard of the nation 

 depend in large measure on affection for country 

 life, and that it would be an evil thing should field 

 and flood cease to afford attractions for active 

 minds. It is the conviction that the surest relief 

 to dulness in the country may be found in diverting 

 our attention from the imperfections of our neigh- 

 bours to the endless variety of animated nature, 

 and to the wealth of story associated with almost 

 every parish, which has induced me to put together 

 the following passages from a very slipshod note- 



