' sociBTi'. 543 



lying- dpeis quife- to the' edge of the rail, and loolring like a gay car'- 

 pet thrown on the> green sw^rd. If the English are an essentially 

 ciommon sense people, thdy, at least, have a love of flowers in all 

 places, that ha» something qliite; romantic in it. 



I reached London only to leaxe it again in another direction, to 



accept a kind invitation to the country house of Mrs. , the 



distinguished authoress of some charming works of fiction-^which 

 are widely known in my country, though I shall not transgress Eng- 

 lish propriety byr giving you a clew to her real name.; 



This place reminded me of home more than ' any^that I ha^e 

 seen in England; not, iadeed, of my own home ^ the Hudson 

 highlands, with its bold river and mountain scenery, but of the gen- 

 eral features of Ameridan cultivated landscape. The house, which 

 is not unlike a country house of; good size with us, is situated on a 

 hill -which rises gently, but so high above the surroundibg country, 

 as to give a wide panorama of field and woodland, such as one sees 

 from a height about Boston a,nd Philadelphia. The approach, and 

 part of the grounds, are bordered with plantations of forest-trees, 

 which, though all' planted, have been left to themselves so much as 

 to look quite like dur native after-growth at home. The place, too, 

 hais not the thorough full-dress air of the great English country 

 places where I' have been staying lately, and, both in extent and 

 keeping, is more like a residence on the Hudson.' The hduse sits 

 down quite on a level with the ground, ho-wever, so that you can 

 step out of the drawing-room on the soft grass, and stroll to yonder 

 bright flower-garden, grouped rOund the fountain dancing in the 

 sttBshine, as if you were only going out of one rooni into another. 

 In the library is a greaj; bay-window, and a: spacious fire-place set in 

 a deep recess lined with books, suggesting warmth and comfort at 

 once, to both mind and body ; and the air of the whole place, joined 

 to the unaffected and cordial welcome from many kind voices, gav6 

 me a feeling of maladie dw pays that I had not felt before in Englandi 



There are no especial wonders of park or palace here, though 

 there is a great deal of quiet beauty, and as I have, pCrhaps, given 

 you almost a silrfeit of great places lately, you will not regret it.' I 

 look out of the windows, however, and see inabundance here, as 

 eyery ■where, those t-Wo evergreens ^that emioh with their broad 



