fcbomas tUCibatelg 183 



high ; and frequent transitions from the one to 

 the other are very pleasing. These still are not 

 all the varieties of which the interior of a grove 

 is capable. Trees indeed, whose branches nearly 

 reach the ground, being each a sort of thicket, 

 are inconsistent with an open plantation. But 

 though some of the characteristic distinctions 

 are thereby excluded, other varieties more 

 minute succeed in their place ; for the freedom 

 of passage throughout brings every tree in its 

 turn near to the eye, and subjects even differ- 

 ences in foliage to observation. These, slight 

 as they may seem, are agreeable when they 

 occur : it is true they are not regretted when 

 wanting ; but a defect of ornament is not neces- 

 sarily a blemish. 



BLENHEIM. 



A river requires a number of accompaniments ; 

 the changes in its course furnish a variety of 

 situations ; while the fertility, convenience, and 

 amenity which attend it, account for all appear- 

 ances of inhabitants and improvement. Profu- 

 sion of ornament on a fictitious river, is a just 

 imitation of cultivated nature ; every species of 

 building, every style of plantation, may abound 

 on the banks ; and whatever be their characters, 

 their proximity to the water is commonly the 



