House and Garden 
onies in the 
treetops on 
the estates of 
the gentry. 
The feathered 
citizens of the 
air are in con- 
t i n u a 1 evi¬ 
dence to the 
sight, and 
their songs 
gladden the 
ear through 
all the hours 
of daylight. 
Then, in the 
evening, it 
you will seek 
out some fa¬ 
vored spot, 
you may hear the nightingale making vocal 
the darkness. 
Outside the villages every roadway is ver¬ 
nal. The hedgerows creep along on either 
side, trees are frequent, and here and there 
are patches of woodland. Secluded nesting- 
places and retreats for the rabbits and others 
of the lesser wild creatures abound. Nature’s 
little proteges thrive and multiply in spite of 
either the guns ol the gentry in the shooting 
season, or the wiles of the poachers. The 
hawthorn hedgerows are wellnigh impassable 
and prevent one’s 
crossing the fields at 
will, yet the whole 
country is networked 
with paths that enter 
and leave the fields 
with convenient 
stiles. These paths 
furnish the most de¬ 
lightful walks in the 
world. They are 
short cuts between 
villages and farm¬ 
houses, and they give 
access to every hill 
and hollow that pos¬ 
A VIEW AT BRENCHLEY CHURCH 
AN ENGLISH FIELD PATH 
sesses any 
natural beau¬ 
ty to attract 
the loiterer. 
In the hol¬ 
lows are the 
streams that 
in this moist 
climate are 
kept brim¬ 
ming nearly 
all the year, 
and on the 
hills you may 
find groves of 
ancient oaks 
and beeches 
and pasture- 
I and with 
thickets of 
furze and broom and holly. The landscape 
itself, wherever seen, is undulating in its 
lines and there is no raggedness or angu¬ 
larity. The hills are rounded and the vel¬ 
vety turf overlies all in graceful contour. 
If you woidd have historic attraction, you 
never have far to go to encounter castle or 
manor house, a battlefield, or something else 
that has close connection with the storied 
past. The history has more than casual in¬ 
terest; for England is our mother country, 
and at a not very remote period her past is 
blended with our 
own. It takes but a 
short acquaintance 
with the country and 
its people to cultivate 
a feeling of close kin¬ 
ship, and to rouse a 
genuine respect for 
m u c h in English 
character and institu¬ 
tions. As for nature 
and the homes in the 
rural villages, once 
seen, their charm will 
dwell in the memory 
always. 
19 
