INTRODUCTION.
ENGLAND is rich—immeasurably richer than any other country under the sun—in its “Homes;” and these homes, whether of the sovereign or of the high nobility, of the country squire or the merchant-prince, of the artisan or the labourer, whether, in fact, they are palace or cottage, or of any intermediate grade, have a character possessed by none other. England, whose
“Home! sweet home!”
has become almost a national anthem—so closely is its sentiment entwined around the hearts of the people of every class—is, indeed, emphatically a Kingdom of Homes; and these, and their associations and surroundings, and the love which is felt for them, are its main source of true greatness. An Englishman feels, wherever he may be, that
“Home is home, however lowly;”
and that, despite the attractions of other countries and the glare and brilliancy of foreign courts and foreign phases of society, after all
“There’s no place like home”
in his own old fatherland.
Beautifully has the gifted poet, Mrs. Hemans, sung of English “Homes,” and charmingly has she said—