182 LILY-PONDS. 



her different vegetable species to produce her wonted pic- 

 tures, the elm and the birch for her flowing and droop- 

 ing lines ; the oak, with its gnarled and sturdy branches, 

 for grandeur ; the maple for beautj, at certain seasons ; 

 and the hemlock, with its silvery-spangled foliage, for 

 brilliancy and grace. All these, and many "others, she has 

 planted around the pond, and filled up the space between 

 the ground and the lower branches with an undergrowth 

 of sweet-scented shrubs, so that from the bosom of the 

 lake the boatman might imagine himself in a scene of 

 enchantment. 



Nature seems to have the same affection for a lily-pond 

 as for old waysides in the country, which have not been 

 trampled by the too frequent passing of travellers ; and 

 on their borders, with equal hand, she groups her vegeta- 

 tion in the same anomalous dispositions as we observe in 

 the forms of clouds. Sometimes the pond sends out a 

 branch, forming a shallow, where beauty gives place to 

 wildness. In these dank meadows Nature creates many 

 grotesque forms of vegetation. Giant rushes raise their 

 spears, half buried in water; and the tupelo-tree by its 

 twisted and fantastic growth adds a tinge of romance to 

 the view. Here variety and uniformity, wildness, rude- 

 ness, and beauty are blended in a charming manner un- 

 attainable by art. I speak of those ponds that remain 

 undisturbed by human hands, having neither been made 

 the location of ice-houses, nor modified to suit the taste 

 or the pride of the owner of some neighboring villa. I 

 speak of them as they come from the hands of Nature, 

 or as modified only by the simple operations of the rustic 

 farm. 



Many of these beautiful ponds have been appropri- 

 ated by traders, or spoiled by country-seats that sub- 

 stitute the beauty of art for that of spontaneity and 

 destroy all their original features. But there are thou- 



