204 Wald Life in a Southern County. 
But the breeze comes, and ere the rattle of the wheels 
and cogs has died away, the fragrance of the flowers 
and green things has reasserted itself. Such a sunny 
slumber, and such a fragrance of flowers, both wild 
and cultivated, have dwelt round and over the place 
these 200 years, and mayhap before that. It is per- 
haps a fancy only, yet I think that where men and 
nature have dwelt side by side time out of mind there 
is a sense of a presence, a genius of the spot, a haunt- 
ing sweetness and loveliness not elsewhere to be found. 
The most lavish expenditure, even when guided by 
true taste, cannot produce this feeling about a modern 
dwelling. 
At Wick, by the side of the garden-path, grows a 
perfect little hedge of lavender; every drawer in the 
house, when opened, emits an odour ofits dried flowers. 
Here, too, are sweet marjoram, rosemary, and rue; so 
also bay and thyme, and some pot-herbs whose use 
is forgotten, besides southernwood and wormwood. 
They do not make medical potions at home here now, 
but the lily-leaves are used to allay inflammation of 
the skin. The house-leek had a reputation with the 
cottage herbalists; it is still talked of, but I think 
very rarely used. 
Among the flowers here are beautiful dark-petalled 
wallflowers, sweet-williams, sweet-briar, and pansies. 
In spring the yellow crocus lifts its head from among 
the grass of the green in front of the house (as the 
Snowdrops did also), and here and there a daffodil. 
