New-York tribune., 1909-05-23
IN ENGLISH OUTING.
Forest and the Mart-
borough Dozens.

Savcrnakc May IL
brilliant capital loses its charm when there
is nothing but dull talk about Radical budget
and everybody is croakinS over the navy How
restful is the change from Whitehall to the Mlrl-
borough downs. where politics. dinner parties
and theatres can be dropped for weekend!
The shy. deceptive spring has come at last in
radiant beauty. and this is the time to see the
fresh vcrdurc Of the woods and TO feel the
throbbing life that Is pulsjng through the gar
dcus fields and husides. Even from the rail-
way windows there are s!impses Of a beautiful
home land the train speeds along the Thames
valley or across the Berkshire meadows. for the
apple trees and chcstnuts are in feathery bloom.
the shcepwaiks Iglow with buttcrcuFS and
blucbeiIs. and the most exquisite blends Of green
are in the woodlands and vccdaat valleys It is
the Ioycliest fortnight If the year. when there
seems to have been a flirylike snowfall in the
orchards and the motor dust has not had time to
settle on dense masses Of woyside foliage And
where can the refugee from crowded town have
A more cxhilaratinS sense Of the glory Of IN
English spring than in Savernake Forest?
Not certainly in Hampstead Heath. dearly a
Constable loved it. nor IN Epping Forest beauti-
full as are th, northern glades, These are pleas
ure grounds Of the masses. overcrovded In the
early spring. and SO noisy that the birds are
frightened away. Windsor Forest is broader
range of woodland scenery. with noble avenues
of trees and charming gGmrses Of Virginia
Water. but the driving and motoring arc con-
tInuous, and it is only in the denser rnt2es that
deer can be seen and the tuneful bird orchestra
be heard Savernake is a wilder tract. where
one is out Of touch with human life Tho
Marquis Of Ailesbury has a splendid resi-
ience on the lower edge OF it, and there are
lodges and cottages in the outer cieavinss. where
garnekccpers and Iaborrrs live: but one may
wander for hours in the leafy glades without
seeing a human face. There are Ions; terraces OF
bccches shapely CIumps of frs and magnificent
oak plantations and among them are large herds
OF red deer and roe deer grazing peacefully on
grassy levels and unaCcustomed TO disturbing
sound or scent The woods are SwarminS with
squirrels rabbits and hdrcs. and birds are sing
ing in the highest trees. Not the nightingale AZ
vet for that delightful warbler cannot be heard
so early out Of East Anglia and Cambridge
shire But the cuckoos are repeating their must
cal call from tree to tree. the thrush and the
blackbird singing merrIly. the lark IS cIrcIas
in song high in the sky. and all the minor min
streIs are twittering and piping i'll the wood
land orchestra, with the rocks as ecc"ptric
comedians Il one returns to the forest after
Curfcw he may hear the owls harsh sCreech or
get glimpse Of a raven in roiseIess flight
A long stroll through this delightful wild Lads
to a deep hollow in the chalk downs. through
which runs a famous trout stream. Ancient
races have left their trails on the wooded HILL
side for there are Roman camps and road levels
and British trails in the direction Of the Druidi-
cal temple at Avebury; but Marlborough. fllnked
by its breezy downs. is completely modernizcd.
In spite of the oId-fashioncd gables and roofs in
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