Spring in a Shropshire Abbey

I wandered round the garden some ten days later. It was July, the Queen of Summer in the North. I heard the swish of the mowers' scythes, as wave after wave of blossoming grass...

A soft sweet day. A gentle rain had fallen all through the night, and the sense of spring was everywhere. Soft mellow sunshine flooded into the house. How the chestnut buds glis...

It was a dark, dismal day. Thick black clouds hung across the sky. There was a faint chirping of sparrows amongst the lifeless creepers, and that was all. A roaring fire burnt i...

Yes, the golden pomp had come. The earth was radiant. Down below the Abbey extended sheets of golden buttercups, the world was full of song, and a clear turquoise sky, cloudless...

"To birdes and beestes That no blisse ne knoweth, And wild worms in wodes Through wynter thou them grievest, And makest hem welneigh meke, And mylde for defaute, And after thou...

"The Hag is astride This night for to ride, The devil and she together, Through thick and through thin, Now out, and now in, Though ne'er so foule be the weather." HERRICK'S _He...

as if it had been the last word of his mother, folks said. So in November, a matter of a few days after poor Tom had died, they buried him accordin' to his instructions, and all...

"Come lasses and lads, take leave of your dads, And away to the May-pole hie; For every he has got him a she, And a minstrel standing by. For Willy has gotten his Jill, And John...

A perfect summer's day--Wild birds strong on the wing--They can mock at the terriers--My roses in full glory--My collection of Moss roses--Chinese larkspurs or delphiniums--Lark...

A spring day--The Abbey fool--An old country rhyme--The old custom of All Fools' Day revived--Old Adam full of splendour--A visit to the Abbey pool--Clematises "opened out" to t...

Peace again in the household--Bedding-out the east garden--"Cherry-pie" geraniums--Scarlet verbenas--Clematis up the pillars, a future glory--Planting the tubs--Sweet-smelling p...

The May-pole--The dances--Bess's dress--Burbidge's fears for his garden--Old Master Theobalds is taken ill--He revives, thanks to Auguste's broth--A talk of old days--Wakes and...

The first signs of spring--Birds sing and call--Life everywhere--Throstle and blackbird--Nature everywhere hard at work--The monastic snails--Their use now--Only used for thrush...

A day in the heart of winter--I lie in bed--My books, my dogs--My daughter Bess--Flowers from Mentone--Cromwell's cabinet--My dog Mouse--The feeding of the birds--The recollecti...

The beginning of spring--The spring of the North--The story of St. Milburgha--Legends of her sanctity--Belief in the efficacy of the saint's water--Wishing Well at Wenlock--Firs...