219 



position and grouping of obje<:ts, tlian the 

 manner in which tlic general outhne of the 

 town appears to yield and vary according 

 to the shape of its foundation; with now 

 and then a counter-acting line, that gives a 

 jjest and spirit to the composition. Not a 

 projecting rock or knoll, no '* coigne of 

 vantage" but is occupied: the l)uildings 

 advancing, or retiring from the eye, accord- 

 inir to the nature of their situation; while 

 the happy mixture of trees completes the 

 whole. Much of this is probably owing to 

 lucky accident, as well as to judicious de- 

 sign; but what if Mr. Brown, or any of his 

 followers, had been employed to lay out 

 such a town according to their conceptions 

 of scenery! what gunpowder-ploLs should 

 we have had, as at Powis Castle,* not to 

 procure, but to get rid of the effects of ac- 

 cident, and to reduce the whole to their 

 system of monotony ! As I recollect my ad* 

 miration of the circumstances I have just 

 mentioned at Tivoli, so I remember my 



* Letter to Mr. Rcpton, 



