Page:The Cottagers of Glenburnie - Hamilton (1808).djvu/414

 of the windows, was seen to advantage peeping through the foliage of the rose-trees, and other flowering shrubs, that were trimly nailed against the walls. The gardens on the other side were kept with equal care. There the pot-herb flourished. There the goodly rows of bee-hives evinced the effects of the additional nourishment afforded their inhabitants, and shewed that the flowers were of other use besides regaling the sight or smell.

Mrs Mason, at the request of her noble benefactors, conducted them into several of the cottages, where, merely from the attention paid to neatness, all had the air of cheerfulness and contentment. She was no less pleased than were the cottagers at the expressions of approbation which were liberally bestowed by her admiring friends; who particularly noticed the dress of the young women, wbich, equally removed from the slovenliness in which so many indulge on working days, as from the absurd and preposterous