THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



31 



appearances, though miles away from any 

 sea-shore ; and to give it a still more sea-like 

 appearance, boulders of various colors and 

 sizes were intermixed with the sand, and 

 the land as far as the eye could reach, in 

 every direction, was a series of gradual 

 undulations, as even and regular as if the 

 tide had left them but a few hours before, 

 only, of course, covered with a luxuriant crop 

 of grass, corn, o^ other farm produce. The 

 houses in the village were, many of them, 

 only one story high, but in some cases an 

 upper story would be indicated by a little 

 window peeping out at a gable formed by the 

 straw thatch or tile-covered roof. The out- 

 side of the buildings were " splash-dashed," 

 that is, covered over with a coating of mortar 

 and fine pebbles splashed on and then white- 

 washed over, and in such a place a lime 

 washed building is a pleasure to look at. It 

 is not blackened in the course of a few days 

 by factory smoke and chemical fumes, but it 

 keeps beautifully white for months and 

 months. A porch around the door is formed 

 of lattice work, and along this and up the 

 window sides are trained honey-suckles, 

 jasmines, and roses ; and such roses when in 

 ilower ! not aphis-covered abortions with about 

 five petals and a half, but real veritable roses 

 as large as the palm of one's hand and as 

 double as a dahlia, red, crimson, striped, pink, 

 yellow, and pure white. These plants seem 

 to be trying which can outstrip its neighbour. 

 Up, up they go to the top of the lattice work 

 above, up still higher, thread under the spout, 

 and hang in graceful pendants from the 

 eaves, or in some cases even ascending the 

 roof to the ridge, down the other slope, and 

 hang from the eaves on the opposite side. 

 Along the sides of the garden walks are 

 edgings of box, thrift, or some other suitable 

 plants, and everything seems to grow to per- 

 fection. Vines are nailed against many of 

 the house sides, and in the course of a few 

 months these will be hung with a profitable 

 crop of grapes. The people are always clean 

 and tidy, and both old and young are' ex- 



i tremely civil, something which cannot always 

 '[ be said of the people of larger towns. Nor 



was this the only place in England where 

 : such a state of things obtained, in many of 



the midland counties, such as Nottingham- 

 i shire, and in the south, and other places 

 : away from the manufacturing centres, such 



luxuriant flowers may be seen, and such 

 ' civility can be met with in almost all the 

 , rural districts in Britain. Not longer ago 



than the year 1878, if you had been at the 

 [ foot of a mountain called Whitbarrow, on 

 j the borders of Lancashire and Westmorland, 

 ] one fine summer's evening, you might have 

 ' seen a naturalist, jaded by a twenty miles 



walk during a reeking hot day, he had sought 

 1 repose at an inn, much against his mind, 

 , but nevertheless a must-be thing, as he could 

 ; see no other habitation. He had sought 

 I relief from the beerhouse in a walk to the 

 ! mountain, until time for bed. He meta little 

 I girl, and asking her the way, shee took from 

 j her head a bag of flour, and placing it upon 

 : a low wall, instructed him in the kindest 

 I manner, so different from that which he was 

 I used to meeting with at home, that it will 



take a long time to erase it from his memory. 

 But let us return to the two we saw at the 

 i garden gate, who are they ? Evidently you do 

 I not know, so let us watch them and see if 



something cannot be learnt. See, she stoops 



■ and plucking two of the lovely snowdrops 

 which grow almost at her feet, a yellow cro- 

 cus and a fern leaf, places them carefully in 

 one of the button holes of his coat. His hand 

 is placed gently on her shoulder and as a pale 

 tint of carmine gathers upon her cheek, he 

 stoops and kisses her. The mystery is solved ! 



1 They are evidently lovers, and while we have 

 ! been taking our flights of imagination, they 

 l have been carrying on a mutual conversation. 



■ He again kisses her, and she him, and 



" Pledges oft to meet again 

 We tore ourselves asunder " 

 I he going his way along the road, and she join- 

 j ing two younger girls in the garden. 



(To be continued.) 



