II 



LAVENDER AND ROSEMARY 



What a happiness it is for the world at large that 

 there are common things of life of which we never 

 tire — the sweet air and sunshine, the green of grass 

 and trees, the bread we eat. Into the order of 

 such common things we may surely bring rose- 

 mary and lavender, two familiar everyday shrubs, 

 but which seemed of late years, though by good 

 hap not now, in some danger of being thrust out 

 of sight — not so much that we were weary of 

 them, as on account of that craving for novelty 

 which hankers after all untried things in hopes 

 of betterment. How often in the end we come 

 back to the old friends, having found none more 

 worthy ! 



Probably no shrubs would seem to be more 

 closely interwoven with English country life than 



these two. Nevertheless, they are not native-born, 



17 3 



