264 Gbe (Barren 



where the view was less fortunate, or so much 

 exposed as to be beheld at once, he blotted out 

 some parts by thick shades to divide it into 

 variety, or to make the richest scene more 

 enchanting by reserving it to a farther advance 

 of the spectator's step. Thus selecting favorite 

 objects and veiling deformities by screens of 

 plantation, sometimes allowing the rudest waste 

 to add its foil to the richest theatre, he realized 

 the compositions of the greatest masters in 

 painting. Where objects were wanting to ani- 

 mate his horizon, his taste as an architect could 

 bestow immediate termination. His buildings, 

 his seats, his temples, were more the works of 

 his pencil than of his compasses. We owe the 

 restoration of Greece and the diffusion of archi- 

 tecture to his skill in landscape. 



But of all the beauties he added to the face 

 of this beautiful country none surpassed his 

 management of water. Adieu to canals, circu- 

 lar basins, and cascades tumbling down marble 

 steps, that last absurd magnificence of Italian 

 and French villas. The forced elevation of 

 cataracts was no more. The gentle stream was 

 taught to serpentize seemingly at its pleasure, 

 and where discontinued by different levels its 

 course appeared to be concealed by thickets 

 properly interspersed, and glittered again at a 

 distance where it might be supposed naturally 



