,4 HAMPSTEAD HILL. 



Thames rich with dm groves in alto relievo, the Castle Hill 

 of Ealing, the classic hill of Harrow, the minor but no less 

 beautiful Wcmbly and Dollis Hills, with Kingsbury's secluded 

 fields and ancient church and the finest lake in the south of 

 England lying between, all give to denizens of the great city 

 of the Thames spots of beauty close at home. Another sweep 

 of the wide circle holds in its embrace the grand old glades 

 of Greenwich and of Epping Forest, the green meadows and 

 slopes of Tottenham, Southgate, and Hornsey, with the spire- 

 crowned hill of Highgate sparkling with its mansions of the 

 olden time. But that which most adorns this splendid zone 

 of light and life is picturesque Hampstead. It connects the 

 two great sweeps of the circle and completes the whole ring 

 with a brilliant and worthy gem. 



How lovable and enjoyable and comforting to the spirit 

 is such English scenery as that which encompasseth the great 

 city. Not so the cold and awful Alpine peaks of rock and 

 snow, nor the desolate and barren summits of our own mountain 

 regions. These are by all means to be seen and explored, 

 for the impressions they leave on the mind are deep and soul- 

 elevating, but they are scarcely scenes to pass a life-time 

 amongst, at least by Englishmen, who, doubtless, mentally 

 moulded by their habitual environment, are most content 

 where verdant vales and wooded gentle slopes delight the 

 eye and assure the mind of peaceful repose and comfortable 

 abundance. And who can see Hampstead itself without 

 admiring the neighbourly contiguity of its houses and their 

 picturesque groupings and settings, the ^ opulent appearance 

 and beauty of its outer villas and mansions, and the luxuriant 

 foliage with which they are surrounded, and, above all, the 

 great open Heath, which, from its commanding position and 

 elevation, gives on one side a view of the town-filled valley of 



