THE BEAUTIFUL IN GROUND. 



" earth's smiles ;" and when the effect of the beauty and form of outline is heighten- 

 ed by the pleasing gradation of light and shade, caused by the sun's light variously 

 reflected by such undulations of lawn, the simile seems strikingly appropriate. With 

 every change of position the outlines vary, and the lights and shades vary with them, 

 so that the eye is doubly pleased by the beauty of form and chiarorscuro, in a lawn 

 with gracefully undulalating surface. 



A flat or level surface is considered beautiful by many persons, though it has no 

 beauty in itself. It is, in fact, chiefly valued because it evinces art. Though there 

 is no positive beauty in a straight or level line, it is often interesting as expressive of 

 power, and we feel as much awed by the boundless prairie, or desert, as by the lofty 

 snow-capped hill. On a smaller scale, a level surface is sometimes agreeable in the midst 

 of a rude and wild country by way of contrast, as a small, level garden in the Alps 

 will sometimes attract one astonishingly, that would be passed by, unnoticed, in the 

 midst of a flat and cultivated country. 



Hence, as there are a thousand men who value power, where there is one who can 

 feel beauty, we see all ignorant persons, who set about embellishing their pleasure- 

 grounds, or even the site for a home, immediately commence levelling the surface. 

 Once brought to this level, improvement can go no further, according their views, since 

 to subjugate or level, is the whole aim of man's ambition. Once levelled, you may 

 give to grounds, or even to a whole landscape, according to their theory, as much 

 beauty as you like. It is only a question of expense. 



This is a fearful fallacy, however ; fearful oftentimes to both the eye and the purse. 

 If a dead level were the thing needful to constitute beauty of surface — then all Hol- 

 land would be the Arcadia of Landscape Painters, and while Claude, condemned to 

 to tame Italy, would have painted the interior of inns, and groups of boors drinking, 

 (vide the Dutch School of Art,) Tenters, living in the dead level of his beautiful na- 

 ture, would have bequeathed to the world pictures of his native land, full of the love- 

 liness of meadows smooth as a carpet, or enlivened only by pollard willows and stag- 

 nant canals. It is not the less fearful to see, as we have often seen in this country, 

 where new places are continually made, a finely varied outline of ground utterly spoil- 

 ed by being graded for the mansion and its surrounding lawn, at an expense which 

 would have curved all the walks, and filled the grounds with the finest trees and shrubs, 

 if their surface had been left nearly or quite as nature formed it. Not much better, 

 or even far worse, is the foolish fancy many persons have of terracing every piece of 

 sloping ground — as a mere matter of ornament, where no terrace is needed. It may 

 be pretty safely said, that a terrace is always ugly, unless it is on a large scale, and is 

 treated with dignity, so as to become part of the building itself, or more properly be 

 supposed to belong to it than to the grounds — like the fine, architectural terraces which 

 surround the old English mansions. But little gardens thrown up into terraces, are 

 devoid of all beauty whatever — though they may often be rendered more useful or 

 available in this way 



surface of ground is rarely icgly in a state of nature — because all nature leans 

 beautiful, and the constant action of the elements goes continually to soften and 



