CTORIAL CALENDAR OF THE SEASONS 2137 EXHIBITING THE PURSUITS, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF COUNTRY PREFACE. THE English are not only the first landscape-painters in the world, but their literature abounds pre-eminently in descriptions of the joys and amenities of the country. As a people we love nature; our poets have ever luxuriated in pourtraying her beauty, and our noblest intellects have been refreshed and invigorated by her intimate acquaintance. The compilation of the following pages, which may be regarded as an expansion and illustration of "Aikin's Calendar of Nature," has been to me like a walk through a rich summer garden; on all hands were flowers and leafy trees, and birds carolling over head in a sunny sky. My business was to gather a nosegay; here I plucked a rose or a lily, there a richly-laden spray from some overhanging bough; now I watched the insects in the grass, or a butterfly flitting along, now listened to the sweet singing of the birds, ever gathering more and more, till my nosegay exceeded all bounds, and the only difficulty has been to bring the beautiful tribute of the garden into the compass in which it is here presented to the public. LONDON, December 18, 1853. MARY HOWITT. |