1891.  England.
July 8
(No 2)
Ilfracombe to Clovelly.  At Bideford we took stage to
Clovelly, a distance of twelve miles over a hard, smooth
and very pretty road which winds through an open
farming country with occasional parks or game preserves
covered with dense woods. The road in most places
is dug down eight or ten feet below the level of the
bordering field the earth having been thrown out on
each side forming banks of a total height of twelve
or fifteen feet above the road.[deleted]side[/deleted] In America such
banks would be almost certainly bare & unsightly
slopes of gravel or sand. Here not an inch of soil
is visable the face of the bank when of earth being
covered with luxuriant beds of beautiful ferns or wild grasses
mingled with innumerable wild flowers  conspicuous
among which are the tall, erect foxgloves. If of
rock this is sure to be clothed with a curtain
of dark, glistening ivy leaves.  A hawthorn hedge
invariably surmounts the bank and cuts off all
view of the landscape beyond save to those who
ride, as we rode, on the top of a tall coach.
During this drive, despite the dismal weather,
I saw and heard more small birds than on
any previous day during this trip. The most
numerously represented species was the Chaffinch.
This bird seems to be equally at home in a
wooded or open country although when seen in
the latter it is nearly always in or near
hedge rows. It is fond of hopping about on
the ground in the middle of roads and 
is so fearless that our horses to-day nearly
stepped on many birds before they would take