INTRODUCTION TO FERN LAND. 
45 
untamed among their native covers. To them the 
fresh breeze laden with soft perfumes never comes. 
Hard toil in city workshops, squalid homes in city 
slums, privation and suffering of every kind, are 
their lot. Others there are—dwellers also in towns 
and cities—who can at times, though rarely, 
snatch a few hours from their toilsome labours 
for a brief glimpse at the beautiful in Nature. 
Others again there are who can devote longer 
periods to the relaxation and enjoyment 
afforded by a ramble across country meads and 
through country lanes, by the silvery waters of 
the flowing brook, and through the shady wood¬ 
land. 
There are still a great many others whose op¬ 
portunities for enjoying the country are unlimited. 
Time and money are at their disposal, and if they 
do not live in the country, they can at any time 
and at any season transport themselves thither. 
To each and to all, to the rich as well as to the 
poor, and to one no more than to the other, God 
offers the bounties of the natural world. But how 
different are the degrees of appreciation of these 
bounties on the part of those who share them ! 
