24 STUDIES OF NATURE. 



to behold Man there, that moment I feel a prefent 

 Deity. Let me give ever fo little fcopc to my 

 fentiment, there is no landfcape but what I am 

 able to ennoble. Thefe vaft meadows are meta- 

 morphofed into Oceans ^ thefe mift-clad hills are 

 iflands emerging above the Horizon ; that city 

 below, is a city of Greece, dignified by the re- 

 fidence of Socrates and of Xenophon. Thanks to 

 my ignorance, I can give the reins to the inftin(?t 

 of my foul. I plunge into infinity. I prolong the 

 diftance of places by that of ages ; and, to com- 

 plete the illufion, I niake that enchanted fpot the 

 habitation of virtue. 



OF THE SENTIMENT OF MELANCHOLY. 



So beneficent is Nature, that flie converts all 

 her phenomena into fo many fources of pleafure 

 to Man ; and if we pay attention to her proce- 

 dure, it will be found, that her moft common 

 appearances are the moft agreeable. 



I enjoy pleafure, for example, when the rain 

 defcends in torrents, when I fee the old mofly 

 walls dripping, and when 1 hear the whiftling 

 of the wind, min2;led with the clattering, of the 

 Tain. Thefe melancholy founds, in the night- 

 time, throw me into a foft and profound ileep. 



Neither 



