State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1831-1836, 1836-03-08

why they do not ofener take fire,
seems strange to one who has been
accustomed TO the use Of wood and
charcoal.
The scattered farm-houses are
substantial, and for the most part
respectable looking dwellings built
not FOR forty or fifty years, then to
be replaced by others, equally tran
STORY but to last for ages. Every
thing within, as well as the outer
walls, is solid and enduring. The
floors, the partitions, the heavy oak
doors and ceiling, the furniture, all
promise to go down several genera
tons. The barns are small com
pared with the quantities of hay
and grain which a New England or
Pennsylvania farmer would think
must be put under cover. Most OF
the hay noticed is put up in large
stacks, near the barn, and the same
is the case, more or less extensively,
with the wheat, barley, oats, beans,
&c.
The English cottages which fell
under my observation may be divi-
ded into two classes-the cottages
of poetry and the cottages of poverty.
Many of the former are quite en-
chanting; especially when the haw-
thorn, the horse-chesnut, the pear
tree, the honeysuckle, the woodbine,
and the ivy, together with all the
varieties of roses and other bright
flowers, are in their glory. Many
Of the more wealthy gentry of edu-
cation and taste, seem to vie with
each other in identifying these rural
spots, for their own amusement and
to variegate the charms Of their
parks and pleasure grounds. Per-
sons Of very small income too, often
display great deal Of taste, in the
cultivation of their little cottage
gardens, and in training the vines,
and flowers, and fruits, which, under
their care, spring up SO joyously
around their humble dwellings.
The English peasant, seems to be a
gardener by a sort Of instinct. If
he has shelter which, under other
circumstances, would look like a
mere gloomy retreat from the ele-
ments, he contrives so TO cover the
walks with ivy, and weave his roses
and honeysuckle about the door and
windows, and plant his currents,
and strawberries, and gooseberries,
interspersed with various fragrant
and beautiful flowers, that you can
not help regarding it as the abode
of competence and happiness. Such
are the cottages of poetry. But
there is another class of tenements,
called cottages, which strike the
eye very differently. Every thing
around them and in them, betrays
the poverty, ignorance, and wretch
edness of their occupants. The eli
mate and the soil, perhaps, do not
allow them to be quite SO bleak and
forlorn, as the huts which shelter
similar wretchedncss and degrade
ton in our own country, but there
is no poetry there. Gin and strong
beer there may be, but no poetry.
Watcring Places.
The only one of these which I
visited, is Chcltenham, lying in a
charming valley, on the great south
ern road from Oxford and Worces-
ter. A few years ago, Brighton
and Bath were by far the most noted
and are indeed, almost the only
noted medicinal watering places in
the kingdom. They are still cele-
brated, and much resorted to by
invalids,-lor pleasure in the warm
season. But Bath, at least, it is
said, has seen its proudest, brightest
days, and is now on the wanc. The
butterflies with golden wings, are
taking their departure for other
gardens Of pleasure. The caprice
is of fashion, much more probably,
than any superior virtue in the wa
tiers of Cheltenham, have of late
been bringing it fast into notice,
and it now bids fair to eclipse the
green of Somerset. Be this as il
may, Cheltenham is certainly a
charming spot. 1t is decidedly the
handsomest town that | saw in all
England. The main street, which
is very compactly built, has nothing
remarkable about it, except it be
the rich jewelry, and other costly