FERNY RAMBLES IN SOUTH DEVON. 51 
A few yards from the entrance, a bend in the 
lane hid its further course from view. But the 
peep just where it disappeared was charming. 
The overhanging trees, the lovely hedge-banks, 
and the carpeting of grass and wild flowers, 
all lent a peculiar and shadowy grace to the 
vista between, forming what may not inappro- 
priately be styled a sort of verdant twilight. On 
the fresh green hedge-banks near us were 
numerous specimens of the Male Fern, the Harts- 
tongue, the Soft Prickly Shield Fern, and small 
plants of the Bracken, delightfully intermingled 
with ivy, moss, and wild hyacinths. 
A little further on the road we found the tops 
of the hedges on each side crowned with number- 
less tall specimens of the Bracken, and presenting 
a peculiarly graceful and beautiful appearance. 
At a short distance from this place, the road 
suddenly descends as it bends sharply round to 
the right. At this point a beautiful view of the 
valley lying below on the left, with its wooded 
bottoms, its orchards, and its meadows is revealed ; 
here and there houses picturesquely dotted about, 
