"Chained to one spot,
They draw nutrition, propagate and rot."
But the next generation is to see all this changed, for even southern England is under the compulsory education act, and the rural population is to have the political franchise and a voice in the election of county boards.
At Horsham we lunched at the King's Arms, walked about its principal square, and were off again for Guildford. As we leave the sea the soil becomes richer, and ere we reach Horsham we say, yes, this is England indeed; but I forgot we passed through the Weald of Sussex before reaching Horsham. The cloudy sky cast deep shadows with the sunbeams over the rich, wooded landscape, as no clear blue sky has power to do, and brought to my mind Mrs. Browning's lines:
. . . "my woods in Sussex have some purple shades at gloaming,
Which are worthy of a king in state, or poet in his youth.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Oh, the blessed woods of Sussex, I can hear them still around me,
With their leafy tide of greenery still rippling up the wind!"
And many a stately home did we see, fit for her "who spake such good thoughts natural."