28o STUDIES OF NATURE. 



ftarry thlftle and vigorous verbafcum, ftifle under 

 their broad leaves the Englilh fhort grafly fod ; 

 thick crops of rj'^e-grafs and trefoil gather round 

 the trees of Paleftine; the bramble fcrambles along 

 their flem, with it's prickly claws, as if mounting 

 a breach ; tufts of nettles take pofleffion of the urn 

 of the Naiads, and forefts of reeds, of the forges of 

 Vulcan ; greenilh fcales of minium corrode the 

 faces of our Venufes, without paying any refpe6t 

 to their beauty. The trees themfelves lay (lege to 

 the caftle ; the wild cherry, the elm, the maple, 

 mount upon it's ridges, plunge their long pivots 

 into it's lofty pediments, and, at length, obtain 

 the viclory over it's haughty cupolas. The ruins 

 of a park no lefs merit the refleftions of the Sage, 

 than thofe of an empire : they equally demonftrate 

 how inefficient the power of Man is, when ftrug- 

 gling againft that of Nature. 



I have not had the felicity, like the primitive 

 Navigators, who difcovered uninhabited iilands, 

 to contemplate the face of the ground as it came 

 from the hand of the Creator ; but I have feen 

 portions of it which had undergone alterations fuf- 

 ficiently fmall to fatisfy me, that nothing could 

 then equal their virgin beauties. They had pro- 

 duced an influence oji the firft relations which 

 were formed by them, and had diffufed over thefe 

 a frelhnefs, a colouring, a native grace inexpref- 



fible. 



