n PREFACE. 



grassy mead was there a nook where I could stretch 

 myself in slumberous ease and watch the swallows ever 

 wheeling, wheeling in the sky. This was the unseen 

 influence of mighty London. The strong life of the 

 vast city magnetized me, and I felt it under the calm 

 oaks. The something wanting in the fields was the 

 absolute quiet, peace, and rest which dwells in the 

 meadows and under the trees and on the hilltops 

 in the country. Under its power the mind gradua% 

 yields itself to the green earth, the wind among the 

 trees, the song of birds, and comes to have an under- 

 standing with them all. For this it is still necessary 

 to seek the far-away glades and hollow coombes, or to 

 sit alone beside the sea. That such a sense of quiet 

 might not be lacking I have added a chapter or so on 

 those lovely downs that overlook the south coast. 



E.J. 



