183 



This bareness is still more out of character 

 in the Ibreground of an ancient castle, or 

 abbey ;yetsucha foreground is immediately 

 made, when a building of that kind is unfor- 

 tunately within the circuit of a gentleman's 

 improvements. Fountain s Abbey I never 

 saw, but have heard too much of the al- 

 terations, which luckily were not quite 

 completed : there is, however, an ancient 

 castle which I have seen, since that boasted 

 improvement took place, of making it 

 ^tand in the lawn. The lawn has so en- 

 tirely subdued and degraded the building, 

 that had 1 not known it was really an an- 

 cient castle, I might have mistaken it for 



where the Genius of the lamp takes up a magnificent pa- 

 lace from the place where it stood, carries it into another 

 ret^ion and sets it down in the midst of a meadow. One 

 might suppose that this Genius had been very busy m 

 England; but though the Genius of the bare and bald is 

 not so powerful in his manner of operating, or so amusing 

 m his effects as that of the lamp, yet in tliis particular he 

 rivals him ; for though he cannot take up a house from 

 the midst of its decorations, and place it in a meadow, he 

 has often made all decorations vanish, and a meadow appear 

 in their place. 



