572 New Era, The, Article, by T.
Woolsey,

INDEX.

97

411

567

125

Scott, (Leonard), Reprints of the
British Periodicals, noticed, 406, 596
Shadow of Christianity, noticed, . 567
Sheol; Hades, The Invisible State,
Article, by E. T. Fitch,.
Sherbrooke, noticed,
Sigourney, (Mrs. L. H.), Letters of
Life, reviewed, by Timothy
Dwight,
Silliman, (B.), Prof. Fisher's Life of,
reviewed, by Timothy Dwight,
Smith, (Alexander), A Summer in
Skye, noticed,

758

380

508

174

385

NEW

THE

ENGLANDER.

No. XCIV.

JANUARY, 1866.

ARTICLE I.-COUNTRY LIFE IN ENGLAND.

The Rural Life of England. By WILLIAM HOWITT. 2 Vols. Philadelphia: Parry & McMillan. 1854.

Our Old Home: A Series of English Sketches. By NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. Boston: Ticknor & Fields.

1863.

Ir is not strange that Americans incline to think and speak much of England and her people, for whatever concerns that nation largely concerns us. Notwithstanding the rough treatment we have lately received at her hands, we cannot forget that she is the mother country. We are bone of her bone, and flesh of her flesh. Whatever is ancient and renowned in her history, whatever the extent of her empire, the wisdom and justice of her laws, or the splendor of her achievements in art and literature,-all is, in a sense, our property, and may justify in us some measure of family pride. It is of our English cousins that we now propose to speak, and of them more especially as living in the country; for it is here that they are

most at home, and appear to the best advantage. In the city, they become cosmopolitan and common-place; it is in the country that they retain most of their national peculiarities.

An intelligent American, turning his eyes toward England, will ever take into his view her history. Living in a new country, and surrounded by whatsoever is recent, he must be deeply impressed with her age; not, indeed, the hoary antiquity of Egypt or Greece, but, as compared with his own country, a nation venerable with years. In the mists which envelop her earliest history, he sees shadowy forms of the old Phoenicians, sea-faring people, hovering around her shores, trafficking with the nations for tin and lead; and when these mists blow away, he finds veritable traces of these bold Eastern men, in their Druidical temples, older than the Christian era. He finds, dating a few centuries later, the remains of Roman forts, bridges, walls, and military roads, built when Rome was mistress of the world. He thinks the plowman must be very dull if he does not reflect for how many years the same soil has been turned up to the sun, and how long it has been the theatre of active human life; that the boatman on the Thames must be very stupid who does not reflect how many times those waters have been cut by British keels, and how grand a part British commerce has played in the world's civilization.

Nor can it be forgotten that the lives of her kings have been largely associated with the country; for over its hills and plains many of then have swept with their armies; in its forests they have hunted; in its parks and gardens they have sought recreation; and in the affection and loyalty of its inhabitants they have taken special delight, and found the firmest pillar of their throne. Not only kings and queens, but the names of lords and ladies, statesmen, warriors, poets, and scholars, are every where linked with rural traditions. In yonder forest, King Rufus fell before Tyrrel's arrow; this one still resounds to the tread of Robin Hood and his merry men. It was on this beach of Southampton, that the waves humbled the pride of Canute. Here is Edgehill, the scene of the first encounter between Charles and the parliamentary forces, and

hard by is the house where Cromwell lodged on the night before the battle. Of modern kings, from Henry the Eighth to the present reigning family, nearly all have been munificent patrons of agriculture and gardening.

On yonder hill are the ruins of Ludlow castle, where Milton's "Comus" was first performed; and by this placid stream is Wilton Hall, amid whose bowers Sir Philip Sydney composed his "Arcadia." In a little rude building at Stratford, was the early home of Shakespeare. In Wolthorpe, Newton was born, and in one of its fortunate orchards saw the famous apple fall.* It is remarkable how almost every corner of the kingdom is associated with important deeds there done, or of eminent men who there lived and died. A writer has well observed that "the roll of England's great men is long, but it exhibits, for the most part, the names of great men and humble places. * Many roof-trees throughout the country are thus made beautiful and imposing, even with their thatch and tiles." Now in this roll are very many of the best minds that the world has ever seen; they have left a deep impression on the fortunes of the race; and it stirs one's blood to walk the soil once trodden by their feet, and to visit the graves where their dust reposes.

*

*

The remains of ancient architecture in England greatly impress a visitor from the New World. Here are castles, abbeys, and cathedrals, eight and nine centuries old. Many of them. are in partial decay, covered with moss and ivy, yet enough has been preserved to illustrate the eminent genius and lofty purpose of the builders. For the sacred edifices it is claimed that the religious sentiment inspired them, just as it led to the crusades, to the translation of the Bible, and taught resistance to tyrants.

"The hand that rounded Peter's dome,

And groined the aisles of Christian Rome,
Wrought in sad sincerity;

Himself from God he could not free;

We understand that the identical pippin is still shown the credulous visitor,

or a consideration.