always able and more than ready to condemn a without reading it mat an honest me was a man b� l god name was john god s good tt was may time in england � � the last breath of a long winter had blown its final farewell across the hills � the last frost had melted the broad low lying fields its iron grip from the of rich red brown earth which now soft and broken were � thick with the corn s tender green it had been a hard season many a time since february onward had the too eagerly pushing of trees and shrubs been by cruel cold � many a biting east wind had withered e first pale green leaves of the and the � and the stormy of a chill northern spring had played with all the dainty blossoms that should according to the ancient shepherd s have been fully with the and but during the closing days of april a sudden grateful warmth had set in � nature the divine goddess seemed to awaken from long slumber and stretch out her arms with a happy smile � and when may morning dawned on the world it came as a vision of glory in clear sunshine and with skies birds broke into song � young and apple boughs quivered almost visibly every moment into pink and white bloom � and raised their heads from comers in the grass and expressed their innocent thoughts in sweetest � and in and through all things the glorious thrill tiie mysterious joy of renewed life hope and love from the creator to his creation it was may time � a real old fashioned english may such as and sang of when all is with blossoms the ground with grass the with leaves the bushes with god s good man and when whatever promise our existence yet holds for ns seems far enough away to inspire ambition yet close enough to encourage fair dreams of fulfilment to experience this and of the time of the year one must be in the country for in the towns the of spring is and feverish � it sick and weary regrets but scarcely any positive ecstasy the close streets the people the high buildings and of chimneys which only permit the patches of sky to be visible the incessant noise and movement the self absorbed crowding and crushing � all these things are so many to nature and are as dead walls of obstacle set against the and forces with which she her children of the forest field and mountain out on the wild in the heart of the woods in the deep where the scent of moss and pine boughs fills the air with influences or by the quiet rivers flowing peacefully under bending and past wide beds where the down with the sun ray and the timid hen to and from her nest among the � in such as these the advent of a warm and brilliant may is with that tremor of delight which gives birth to beauty and concerning which that ancient and picturesque sir thomas writes like as may and in many gardens so in likewise let every man of worship flourish his heart in this world there was a certain man of worship in the world at the particular time when this present record of life and love begins who found himself very well disposed to flourish his heart in the manner prescribed when after many dark days of cold and general depression may at last came in rejoicing seated under broad apple boughs which spread around him like a studded with rosy bud jewels that shone glossy bright against the rough dark brown stems he surveyed the smiling scenery of his own garden with an air of satisfaction that was almost boyish though his years had run well past forty and he was a parson to boot a gravely would have seemed the more fitting expression for his age and the generally accepted nature of his calling � a kind of of the sunshine as part of the universal of things � or a consciousness of the bursting apple blossoms within his reach as a kind of inferior god s good man � circumstance which could neither be altered nor avoided the john however was one of those rarely gifted individuals who cannot assume an aspect which is foreign to temperament he was of a cheerful even sanguine disposition and his countenance faithfully reflected the ordinary bent of his humour seeing him at a distance the casual observer would at once have judged him to be either an or an there was no superfluous flesh about him he was tall and muscular with well knit limbs broad shoulders and a head altogether lacking in the humble or which all worldly wise cultivate for the benefit of their rich it was a proud head � almost � of strong character and self reliance well poised on a full throat and set off by a considerable quantity of dark brown hair which was in brushing inclined to curls and dashed with grey a broad forehead deeply set dark blue eyes a straight and very prominent nose a strong jaw and obstinate chin � a firmly mouth round which many a sweet and tender thought had drawn kindly little lines of gentle smiling that were scarcely hidden by ihe silver brown moustache � such briefly was the appearance of one who though only a country clergyman of whom the great world knew nothing was the living representative of more powerful authority to his little cure of souls than either the bishop of the or the king in all his majesty he was the sole owner of one of the smallest in england � an obscure deeply hidden but perfectly and beautiful of days situated in one of the loveliest of and known as the village of st best sometimes 