24 



©n tbc Stubs of IRatural Scenery. 



scenery of nature, here it is, in these sequestered valleys 

 among the mountains, with rocks, water, and vegetation 

 woven into a harmonious whole. 



But the river cannot stay ; an irresistible force is draw- 

 ing it along ; it grows larger and larger, forms mighty cata- 

 racts, and at last reaches the deep valleys and plains but 

 little above the sea. Now it flows slowly and majestically, 

 a picture of strength and peace, winding in and out in a 

 hundred ways, rounding a low promontory, bending along 

 a steep bank, watering fertile meadows and islands rich in 



FIG. 5.- LOWLAND RIVER ; MEADOW AND WOODS. 



vegetable and animal life. It is difficult to decide which 

 is the more beautiful, the little purling stream with its 

 grassy and stony bed, or the mighty river on the shores of 

 which groves and meadows mingle together ; the cascade 

 of the rivulet near its source, or the irresistible cataract 

 throwing itself with a deafening roar into the deep ; the 

 mountain spring or the lake in the valley, for each is beau- 

 tiful in its own way. 



The vegetation of the riverside is generally exception- 

 ally beautiful and interesting, perhaps because there the 



