Category: History - British
Pre-eminence of England as a Place of Country Residence -- Its Political and Moral Position -- the Conveniences conferred by the Perfection of the Arts on Social Life -- Its Literature, Spirit of Freedom, Religious Feeling, and Philanthropic Institutions -- the Delightfulness...
Man’s cultured Eden casts ye forth, Where’er ye list to wander wide, Wild heaths and wilder glens to tread, The spacious earth before you spread, Your hearts your only guide.
65. CHAPTER III.The nooks of the world which we visited in our last chapter lay in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire; we will now change the scene a little northward. Such secluded and original sp...
64. CHAPTER II.There are thousands of places in this beautiful kingdom, which if you could change their situation--if you could take some plain, monotonous, and uninteresting tracts from the n...
60. CHAPTER IV.A person from the south or midland counties of England, journeying northward, is struck when he enters Durham, or Northumberland, with the sight of bands of women working in the...
68. CHAPTER VI.Early in the spring of 1834, I walked over with Charles Pemberton from Nottingham, to see Annesley Hall, the birth-place and patrimony of Mary Chaworth; a place made of immortal...
61. CHAPTER V.The citizen who lives in a compact house in the centre of a great city; whose doors and windows are secured at night by bars, bolts, shutters, locks, and hinges of the most appr...
52. CHAPTER IV.In my last chapter I took a view of the variety given to rural life by the annual visit to town: but if a gentleman have no desire so to vary his existence; if he love the count...
93. CHAPTER XIV.~Sonst stuerzte sich der Himmels-Liebe Kuss Auf mich herab, in ernster Sabbathstille; Da klang so ahndungsvoll des Glockentones Fuelle, Und ein Gebet war bruenstiger Genuss: Ein...
85. CHAPTER VI.The next and last of these popular festivities that I shall notice at any length, is jolly old Christmas,--the festival of the fireside; the most domestic and heartfelt carnival...
73. CHAPTER II.THE PRE-EMINENCE OF THE LOVE OF NATURE IN THE ENGLISH LITERATURE OVER THAT OF ALL OTHER MODERN NATIONS--THE PROMOTION OF THIS PASSION BY THE WRITINGS OF PROFESSOR WILSON, IN BLA...
72. CHAPTER I.One of the most conspicuous features of English literature, is that intense love of the sublime and beautiful in Nature, which pervades, with a living spirit, the works of our p...
75. CHAPTER I.Amongst the most interesting features of the country are our forests. There is nothing that we come in contact with, which conveys to our minds such vivid impressions of the pro...
90. CHAPTER XI.A mighty revolution has taken place in the sports and pastimes of the common people. They, indeed, furnish a certain indication of the real character of a people, and change wit...
97. CHAPTER XVIII.She smiles, including in her wide embrace City, and town, and tower, and sea with ships Sprinkled; be our companion while we track Her rivers populous with gliding life; While,...
92. CHAPTER XIII.In my last chapter I gave a general view of the present rural sports and pastimes of the peasantry--perhaps as it regards wrestling, more prominently than some readers might thi...
89. CHAPTER X.A great deal has been written about our fashionable watering-places, but there is another class of watering-places quite as amusing in their way, of which the public knows littl...
76. CHAPTER II.This forest seems to retain not only more of the forest character than all our other forests, but to have maintained more exactly its ancient boundaries. William of Malmsbury sa...
87. CHAPTER VIII.There is nothing more characteristic in rural life than a village alehouse, or inn. It is the centre of information, and the regular, or occasional rendezvous of almost everybod...
59. CHAPTER III.The clown, the child of nature, without guile, Blessed with an infant’s ignorance of all But his own simple pleasures; now and then A wrestling match, a foot-race, or a fair.--_...
57. CHAPTER I.There are few things which give one such a feeling of the prosperity of the country, as seeing the country people pour into a large town on market-day. There they come, streamin...
83. CHAPTER IV.May-day was the great festival of the young. Easter was the great festival of the church. It followed the dismal and abstemious time of Lent, and came heralded by Palm-Sunday, t...
69. CHAPTER VII.We left Annesley, as we have said, by that long wood-walk which leads to the Mansfield road; and advancing on that road about a mile, then turned to the right through a deep def...
51. CHAPTER III.One of the chief features of the life of the nobility and gentry of England, is their annual visit to the metropolis; and it is one which has a most essential influence upon the...
80. CHAPTER I.What a mighty space lies between the palace and the cottage in this country! ay, what a mighty space between the mansion of the private gentleman and the hut of the labourer on...
67. CHAPTER V.Mrs. Jameson has lately given a very vivid and charming account of this fine old place. I am not going to tread in her steps, but to describe the impression it made upon myself...
95. CHAPTER XVI.How rapidly is the fashion of the ancient rural life of England disappearing! Every one who lived in the country in his youth, and looks back to that period now, feels how much...
56. CHAPTER VIII.Before closing this department of my work, I must just glance at a few occurrences which serve to give an occasional variety to rural life, and may be classed under the head of...
91. CHAPTER XII.We must not close this department of our subject without saying a word or two on wrestling. This exercise, which at one time was almost universal, is now, like many others, fall...
82. CHAPTER III.May-day was celebrated with a gaiety and poetical grace far beyond all other festivals. It had come down from the pagan times with all its Arcadian beauty, and seemed to belong...
53. CHAPTER V.There may be a difference of opinion as to the strict utility or wisdom of the pursuits noticed in the last chapter;--of the excellence and rationality of those which form the s...
55. CHAPTER VII.We must now wind up, in a few words, what we have to say of the country life of the gentry, and these words must be on their gardens. In these, as in all those other sources of...
49. CHAPTER I.Let every man who has a sufficiency for the enjoyment of life, thank heaven most fervently that he lives in this country and age. They may tell us of the beauty of southern skie...
96. CHAPTER XVII.We have said that we will look at what education and other causes are doing, and what they are leaving undone in the change of character which they are effecting in the rural po...
88. CHAPTER IX.Besides the remains of the ancient festivals, the country people find a great source of amusement in these gatherings. The WAKE is the parochial feast of the dedication of the c...
77. CHAPTER III.New Forest, as we have now seen, still retains its completeness as a forest--its herds of deer, its keepers going their daily rounds, its wild horses, and swine almost as wild,...
54. CHAPTER VI.What we have just said of the pleasures and benefit of scientific farming, may be said also of planting; it is but another interesting mode of employing time by landed proprieto...
66. CHAPTER IV.Our country houses, and especially the older ones, are in themselves an inestimable national treasure. A thousand endearing associations gather about them. I cannot conceive a m...
58. CHAPTER II.Cobbett complains that the farmer has been spoiled by the growth of luxurious habits and effeminacy in the nation. That the simple old furniture is cast out of their houses; tha...
94. CHAPTER XV.To the real lover of the country there needs no great events, no exciting circumstances to effect his happiness. The freshness of the country, and the profoundness of its quiet,...
50. CHAPTER II.Alexander of Macedon said if he were not Alexander, he would choose to be Diogenes; Alexander of Russia also said if he were not Alexander, he would choose to be an English gent...
78. CHAPTER IV.Before I quit this part of my volume, let me say a word on the subject of forest enclosures. There are certain persons who, from notions of national benefit, are very desirous t...
81. CHAPTER II.What a revolution of taste has taken place in the English people as it regards popular festivals and festivities! Our ancestors were passionately fond of shows, pageants, proces...
74. CHAPTER III.From what has been said in the last chapter, it is obvious that had Bewick been but one of a series of wood-engravers during the established period of the art, his merit would h...
84. CHAPTER V.This is the only ancient religious festival that has become a popular one since the Reformation, through the addition of a modern circumstance. Clubs, or Friendly Societies, hav...
79. CHAPTER V.We have a few herds of the original cattle which once abounded in England and Scotland, still remaining. We have long ago destroyed our wolves, bears, and boars; and it seems al...
86. CHAPTER VII.The Fairies, which gave in old times one of the most interesting and poetical features to the country, have all vanished clean away. Of those supernatural and airy beings who us...
62. CHAPTER VI.I never see a clear stream running through the fields at this beautiful time of the year but I wish, like old Izaak Walton, to take rod and line and a pleasant book, and wander...
70. CHAPTER VIII.How delicious is our old park scenery! How wise that such places as Richmond, Greenwich, and such old parks in the neighbourhood of the Metropolis, are kept up and kept open, th...
15. CHAPTER I.Gipsies: their History and present State -- Gipsies Part and Parcel of the English Landscape -- an essential Portion of our Poetry and Literature -- Uses made of them by many ki...
33. CHAPTER III.May-Day Festivities -- Formerly celebrated with more Gaiety than any others -- Came down from Pagan Antiquity in all their Arcadian Beauty -- It was the Festival of the Poets --...
26. CHAPTER I.The Forests of England -- Our Forests amongst our most interesting Objects -- Scenery of England as we may suppose it in the Feudal Ages, and as it is now -- Charms with which o...
23. CHAPTER I.Love of the Sublime and Beautiful in Nature more eminently developed in Modern than in Classical Literature -- the Fact striking, that the Love of Nature is so conspicuous in ou...
12. CHAPTER IV.The Bondage System of the North of England -- Manner in which it strikes a Stranger from the South -- Bands of Women working in the Fields -- Mode of Maintaining the Hinds -- De...
27. CHAPTER II.New Forest -- Retains more of its Forest Character than any other -- Boundaries now nearly the same as in Charles II.’s time -- Places in the Forest -- Its Features as you pass...
20. CHAPTER VI.Annesley Hall, and Hucknall -- Annesley Hall, the abode of Mary Chaworth, most singularly overlooked by Visiters to Newstead -- Tomb and Funeral of Lord Byron -- Scene in the Va...
16. CHAPTER II.Nooks of the World, or a Peep into the Back Settlements of England -- Beauty and Repose of many such Places to the eye -- their Intellectual Slumber -- Wordsworth’s Description...
17. CHAPTER III.Nooks of the World: Part II. -- Life in the Dales of Lancashire and Yorkshire -- Wide Contrast between the Aspect and Condition of the Agricultural and Manufacturing Districts -...
39. CHAPTER IX.Popular Places of Resort -- Wakes, Statutes, and Fairs -- the Wake, the Feast of the Dedication of the Parish Church, now dwindled into a Village Holiday -- Anticipation of it b...
34. CHAPTER IV.Easter Festivities -- May the Festival of the Young, Easter that of the Church -- Celebration of Easter in Catholic Countries -- Royal Distribution of Alms on Maunday Thursday a...
41. CHAPTER XII.WRESTLING: Its History and present Practice -- this Exercise, formerly so general, now confined to a few Counties -- Cornwall and Devon, Lancashire, Cumberland and Westmoreland...
4. CHAPTER IV.Routine of Country Sports -- Hunting, Shooting, Coursing, pursued in a different Style to that of our Ancestors -- each its own Season, Apparatus, and Appointments -- English Sp...
7. CHAPTER VII.Gardens -- Pleasures of them -- Retrospective View of English Gardens -- Influence of our Imaginative Writers on their Character -- Writers before the Reign of Elizabeth -- the...
9. CHAPTER I.The English Farmer: his Character, and Mode of Life -- Picture of the approach to a Market-Town on a Market-Day -- Farmers going in and coming out -- Contrast between the Space...
45. CHAPTER XVI.Lingering Customs -- Rapid Disappearance of Old English Customs -- the Beautiful Custom of Hanging Garlands in Village Churches at the Funerals of Young Maidens, nearly extinct...
5. CHAPTER V.Scientific Farming: Its State, Implements, and Admirers, Ancient and Modern -- Agricultural Pursuits delighted in by the greatest Men of all Ages -- Attachment of the Roman Nobi...
36. CHAPTER VI.Christmas Festivities -- the Festival of the Fireside -- Its Ancient Usages made familiar by our Popular Writers -- Burton’s Account of Christmas Games -- Withers’ Poetical Desc...
19. CHAPTER V.Hardwicke Hall -- the Author’s Visit to it on the present Duke’s coming of Age -- Scenes which presented themselves -- a Second Visit with a Party of Friends -- a Third Visit af...
10. CHAPTER II.The English Farmer as operated upon by Modern Circumstances -- Complaint of Cobbett that the Farmer is spoiled by Modern Refinement -- In what Degree this is true -- Men of all...
13. CHAPTER V.The Terrors of a Solitary House -- Sense of Insecurity which a Townsman feels in a Solitary House at Night -- Wide Difference in our Feeling of such a Place by Day and by Night...
21. CHAPTER VII.Newstead Abbey -- Picturesque Approach to it -- Recollection of a former Visit -- the Desolation of the Place then -- Byron’s own Description of it -- the Gallery -- the Library...
18. CHAPTER IV.Old English Houses -- General Impression of them -- the strong Historic Interest connected with them -- a delightful Record of such Abodes might be written -- Feelings that aris...
42. CHAPTER XIII.Favourite Pursuits of English Cottagers and Workmen -- the Genius of the Working Class -- its Effects on the Happiness of that Class -- almost every Man his Hobby -- Pigeon-fanc...
1. CHAPTER I.Pre-eminence of England as a Place of Country Residence -- Its Political and Moral Position -- the Conveniences conferred by the Perfection of the Arts on Social Life -- Its Lit...
43. CHAPTER XIV.Sunday in the Country -- Goethe’s Description of a Sunday in Germany -- Applicable in a great degree to Sunday here -- Trip to Richmond by the Steamer, and its Result -- Passing...
2. CHAPTER II.Enviable Position of the English Country Gentleman as regards all the Pleasures and Advantages of Life -- every Art and Energy exerted in his Favour -- by them his House surroun...
38. CHAPTER VIII.The Village Inn -- the Old-fashioned Village Inn a very different place to the New Beer-Shop -- its General Aspect -- its Old Tree -- Remarkable Tree of this kind at the Golden...
44. CHAPTER XV.Cheap Pleasures of Country Life -- No great Events needed by the Lover of Nature to render him Happy -- Recollections of early Delight in the Country -- Objects of Pleasurable O...
29. CHAPTER IV.Forest Enclosures -- Injuries to the Arts, Manufactures, and the Intellectual Taste of the Public to be apprehended from such Enclosures -- Logic of Lawyers and Land-Surveyors -...
47. CHAPTER XVIII.Concluding Chapter -- an extensive Observation of our own Country recommended -- Every Part presents some Variety of Beauty, Custom, or other Object worthy of Notice -- Some of...
11. CHAPTER III.Farm-Servants, and their Mode of Life -- a Peak-of-Derbyshireman’s Address to his Guest -- the Plodding Farmer and his Wife -- the Journal of a Farmer’s Day, by Mr. Robinson of...
35. CHAPTER V.Whitsuntide Festivities -- Sole Religious Festival that continues a Popular one -- this partly owing to Friendly Societies -- Joyous Aspect of this Village Fete -- Whitsuntide V...
40. CHAPTER XI.Sports and Pastimes of the People -- History of their Changes and Present State -- Sports generated by the Feudal Habits -- Sports introduced by the Catholic Church -- the mere...
28. CHAPTER III.Sherwood Forest -- In a very different State to New Forest -- Celebrated as the Scene of Robin Hood’s Exploits -- the Norman Kings, especially John, fond of Hunting there -- For...
6. CHAPTER VI.Planting: Its Pleasures -- Vast Effect of the Writings of Evelyn in England, and Dr. Johnson in Scotland -- Evidences of the Growth of the Planting Spirit in all Parts of the Ki...
31. CHAPTER I.Cottage Life -- Wide Space between the Life of the Hall and that of the Cottage -- the Routine of the Labourer’s Life -- a Blow aimed at his Domestic Security -- a Highland Hut...
46. CHAPTER XVII.Education of the Rural Population -- what Education is doing, and leaving undone in the Poetry of Village Life -- Peculiar Social Condition of Surrey -- its Effect on the Peasan...
37. CHAPTER VII.The Fairy Superstitions -- Fairies all vanished from the Country -- gone in Chaucer’s Days -- Bishop Corbett’s Farewell to them -- Hogg their last Poet -- Fairies of Caldon-Low...
14. CHAPTER VI.Midsummer in the Fields -- the Spiritual Effect of Green Fields at Midsummer -- True Wisdom of Izaak Walton -- Delicious Haunts of the Angler at this Season -- Profound Repose o...
3. CHAPTER III.Life of the Gentry in the Country -- Effect of the Annual Visit of the Aristocracy to Town -- Pleasure of re-assembling at their Country Houses -- Impressions of our Country Hou...
8. CHAPTER VIII.Country Excitements -- Diminution of the Enjoyment of Country Life by Petty Rivalries and Jealousies; and by the Neglect of Walking -- Racing a great cause of excitement to the...
24. CHAPTER II.Development of the Love of the Country greater in English than in Continental Literature -- Comparison of our Literature, in various Departments, with the Continental -- German...
25. CHAPTER III.Influence of Wood-engraving on the Love of the Picturesque in the Country -- Introduction of Stereotyping Wood-cuts in the Cheap Magazines -- Probable Results from the Use of th...
32. CHAPTER II.Popular Festivals and Festivities -- Sketch of their History -- of Catholic Origin -- The great Change in the Public Taste regarding them traced to the Reformation -- Subsequent...
30. CHAPTER V.Wild English Cattle -- Places where they still exist -- Bewick’s Description of them -- the Author’s Visit to Chillingham Park in 1836, to see the great Herd -- Lord Tankerville...
22. PART IV.71. PART IV.48. PART I.