New-York tribune., 1908-11-29

squattsr sovereisns One also sees from Hind
head the hammer ponds flashing and sparkhns
among the green commons and gray heaths ana
these are "reminiscences OF ruined Industry
There were once ironworks throughout surrey
and Sussex and trees were felled for fuel ana
gaps made in the forests and in the heaths'
where water collected in ponds The INDUSTRY
was destroyed by Northern competition the
forests were saved from further inroads' ana the
hammer pools millraces and stsgnant poluS
were left to vary the scenery OF oeautiiui
shire Not even the most Jealous tarln reforHiei
would have the heart to relindle the furnace
fires among the pine woods and wastes OF furze
and brscken. Surrey as another Black Country
would lose its fascination and charm
There NAV be too many red brick Villas on
Eindhead as there at, Dorking, Relgate anu
Red Hill; but the wildness OF the North Do"H9
remains unspoied IN the smaller VliiaseS' "ie
the commons have been protected against spe0U
lative building and the beauty OF the rustic ca"
vironment has been preserved Inc 10" 80
e,,-r-,,- co++ages covered with Ichen. have been
uainted by Hook, Birket Foster Mrs Aliins
bom and scores of artists, until every one KNOWS
hoyy they look; and even IN chill NoVeli0ei.
when rusget glints have taken the place o.
bonevsucLIe in the hedges, 1t IS easy TO under-
s+and why thew have not been able to resist th7
tan,ptatIon to make their pictures TOO pre'''
Poses are still blooming in the garden stflpS
side the porches and the Virginia creepeFs ii0
q bright blaze Of color on the walls anu '
cottages are perfect IN their picturesque Oes
Villages like ChiddIngfold and Thursiey' win
their half timbered inns, thatched roofs ana oiu-
fashioned gardens, are not TO De matchoo IA
e.. .r1s1and and Northern counties; and their
1oveIiuess Is nellowed by tho dull tones Oh tho
.Lv and the drabs and grays OF the outlying
tied hotele and residential quarter OF Greyshott
an the suur of Hindhead: but who can forget
tbs ouaint oak interiors and inglenooks OF the
ancient village inns the clusters OF cottages
around stone church towers on the edge OF the
upland wilderness!
Tho train, from Waterloo Victoria are q
long time in tr11ndIing from one suburban hlve
to another: yet the pine covered wooolaho' are
not far afeld, and the most fragrant air IN 'he
KINGDOM is there. with healing quahues Iol
tbro... and lungs sneared with London smudse
From C,utldford one may take the Pilgrim
Way to St Martha's and soon be out OF the
modern world, whether he passes the Ne"lanos
y.vs for q prolonged exploration OF the forest
paths; or goes to shere and GomesnaiI "ith
their Quaint cottages built centuries ago; or 10
AbinSer with its ancient whipping post ana
stocks; or halts at Wotton. where John Evelyn
loved his trees and lived among them From
codaIming II will be a drive or walk OF five miles
.o D,,nsfold where the houses have stood from
th. Middle Ages with their ancient oak rafters
and beams and comfortable chimney nooks' ana
where the cottagers and furze cutters talk
xInoIy about their Norman ancestors and boast
that the family have been in possession genera
ton after generation for hundreds OF years
From D11nsfold one may 60 on to Hindhead or
Black Down and see gypsy encampment
Ior~ ~had AZ
in the days when Mr.. Barring Gould's broom
squire exercised dominion over the wild heath
A train from the nearest station may carry the
saunterer back to London in an hour, but mean
while he has been transported to another age
and another planet!
II Is not strange that the Surrey wilds have
fascinated men OF letters and artists and
drawn them out Of the crowded towns Tenny-
son was out Of the world among the sylvan
lanes OF the high downs, and found among them
Inspiration and soIace, which were lacking at
Freshwater even with the glimpse OF Italy from
q fsvorite nook. He enjoyed the close COM
panionship Of trees and birds much Evelyn
at wotton. and so did Tyndall. who lived
Hindhead and was buried at Haslemere. Dick
ems saw the Devils Punch Bowl. and so did
White Of selborne. The two cottages at Shot
terrniT where George Eliot wrote "Middlemarch''
still quaint and beautiful retreats and so
also is the house where Mrs. Humphry Ward
broodsd over David Grieye" There are now
moro artists than authors at Greyshott, for
Conan Doyle's CHEEKY face Is no longer seen there
and Frederick Harrison, Bernard Shaw and
other writer's have deserted their favorite
haunts. Hindhead has great literary and artis-
tic traditions. even II doggerel about the murder
Of a sailor be peddled postcards and four
wretched daubs have been painted for the deco
90 e.,
the base OF the box clad down. is another
literary centre, for Keats wrote "Endymion''
there IN shady hooks Of the Mole; Nine d'Ar-
blay lived at Camilla Lacy Nine de Stael
Talleyrand and famous French refugees were
entertained there; Nelson's last days in England
before Trafalgar were spent there; and George
Meredth's home is at Box Hill There are
ghost walks among the villages and forest paths
OF the North Downs. where famous men have
lived the seclusion OF the wiIds and NAV still
revisit the "slimpses OF the moon"
L n. z.