132 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
waving Fern-fronds, rises up against the tall and 
matted shrubs from the hedges which run to 
meet it, and mingling its own wealth of green 
twigs with the branches of a small oak on the 
opposite side of the way, forms a delightful 
canopy of quivering leaves, through which the 
blue of the sky, and the fleecy white of the 
passing clouds, can just be seen. 
Who could resist the temptation to wander 
into such a bower as this ?—for bower it seems. 
When, however, we reach the hedge-bank that 
appears to bar the way, our astonishment is great 
to find that it is not a cul-de-sac which we have 
entered; for a turning to the left, so sharp as to 
be unseen until we approach it closely, reveals 
the most beautiful green and ferny lane which 
it is possible for the imagination to conceive. 
Oh ! the glorious wealth of waving green, wild 
flowers and Fern-fronds, which the eye surveys, 
as it delightedly wanders along the charming 
vista which bursts upon us ! On our right and 
on our left, just where the lane bends round, two 
stately Brakes stand, as if placed there to guard 
this inner paradise of the Ferns. And on the 
