216 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. 



the residence of the rural deities, who, by their invisible pres- 

 ence, inspired every heart with those delightful sentiments, 

 which, though not entirely unfelt on earth, are well known 

 only in Paradise. It was the presence of these deities that 

 yielded the place its mysterious charms. It was the Naiad 

 who gave romantic melody to the fountain that bubbled up 

 from the mossy glen in the hillside, and spread the hue of 

 beauty over the solitary lake in the valley ; and the Dryads 

 or Woodnymphs that caused these woodland arbors to rival 

 the green retreats of Elysium. 



In these rural solitudes were assembled all those little 

 harmless animals, which by their motions and frolics seem to 

 give life to the inanimate scenes of nature. Here were not 

 only all the familiar birds that delight in the company of 

 man ; but all the less familiar birds, that love to chant their 

 wild melodies in the hiding places of the solitary echoes, 

 might also be heard in the season of song. The red-winged 

 starling, long exiled from our villages, still uttered his melan- 

 choly ditty among the willows in the valley, and weaved his 

 nest among the tall rushes that rose out of the water. The 

 ruff-necked grouse beat his muffled drum in the adjoining 

 forest, and the hermit thrush poured forth his indescribable 

 strains, like some voice that had wandered from the groves of 

 Idalia. Even in the depth of winter the hearts of the 

 farmer and his family were cheered by a multitude of merry 

 voices that seemed to be peculiar to the place. 



This charming spot soon became celebrated in all the 

 country round for its romantic beauties; and it was eagerly 

 coveted by many people of wealth who were seeking a place 

 of rural retirement. The cottager who had lived here ever 

 since his birth, regarded it with affection and reverence, as 

 his own paternal homestead. But there are not many who 

 can resist the temptation of gold to make a sacrifice either of 

 principle or affection, and the rustic possessor of this little 

 farm was not one of them. He sold it to a man of wealth 

 and cultivated taste, whose wife and daughters were unaffect- 

 ed lovers of nature, and who were delighted with the idea of 

 occupying a place that was celebrated as the resort of the 



