TKlater 155 



length of the wa}'. The even temper in the stream 

 suits the scenes through which it passes ; they are in 

 general of a very sober cast; not melancholy, but 

 grave ; never exposed to a glare ; never darkened with 

 gloom; nor by strong contrasts of Hght and shade 

 exhibiting the excess of either; undisturbed b}' an 

 excess of prospects without, or a multiplicity of 

 objects within, they retain at all times a' mildness 

 of character which is still more forcibly felt when 

 the shadows grow faint as they lengthen ; when a Uttle 

 rustling of birds in the spray, the leaping of the fish, 

 and the fragrancy of the woodbine denote the ap- 

 proach of evening; while the setting sun shoots its 

 last gleams on a Tuscan portico, which is close to 

 the great basin, but which from a seat near this river 

 is seen at a distance, through all the obscurit}- of the 

 wood, glowing on the banks, and reflected on the 

 surface of the water." 

 Here are good words about flowers on the waterside : 



"One beautiful way in which flowers can be used, 

 especiall}' those distinguished for the brightness and 

 clearness of their colouring, or for their tall stalks, 

 is to plant them in moss and among wild vegetation 

 along the edge of a brook or some other piece of 

 water. The reflections in the water and the play 

 of their movements thus doubled clothed with a new 

 charm this scene which is altogether natural."^ 



Throughout all these quotations, however, no one 



• Hirschf eld's Theoric dcr Garden Kunst, Leipzig, 1777. 



