47 



plumage are the songsters also, as they hop from twig to twig, or fly from tree 

 to tree, striking the eye with delight. Here and there, too, we may catch 

 a glimpse of the noble golden pheasant strolling in our path. At the burst 

 of his whirring flight the whole harmony of the grove becomes disturbed. 

 The timid hare limps across the path, and steals away in fear. The frightened 

 rabbit skips to hide itself in the thicket ; the squirrel leaps from branch to 

 branch, and away. And then we have the murmuring of the gentle streamlet 

 stealing upon the ear and on the eye hither and thither in its winding course, 

 now rippling over a pebbly bed, now leaping over some rugged steep, and — 

 murmuring no more, but roaring impetuously to the river, on its way to the 

 boundless sea — 



" Through groves sequestered, dark and still, 

 Low vales and mossy cells among, 

 In silent paths, the careless rill, 

 With languid murmur, steals along. 

 Awhile it plays, with circling sweep, 

 And lingering leaves its native plain ; 

 Then pours impetuous down the steep, 

 And mingles in the boundless main." — Hawkeswouth. 



Through such secluded and alluring retreats I would take the most 

 interesting and varied course with my walks. Art must be employed, but 

 with a careful hand, so that Nature's beauties may be presented with as little 

 alteration as possible. In parts where the ground is of a general sameness, 

 by reason of its being covered with one kind of wild undergrowth, a portion 

 should be cleared, so as to form various-sized and natural glades of grass, 

 blended with groups and masses of wild flowers and clustered native bushes. 



In this kind of scenery the walks need only be made dry, and from four 

 to five feet wide, always taking care to have shorter bends on abrupt ground 

 than in that in which there are gentle undulations. These walks ought to 

 take a natural and varied course, having no other margin than that of some 

 indigenous growth. They must also be kept invariably clean and tidy, still 

 preserving pretty much their width in a careless form. In very abrupt ground 

 they would be more in character to be narrower than the width which has 

 been named. 



In new ground, when the mansion is so unfortunate as not to be 

 associated with existing woods, but dependent on the dress of new plantations, 



