506 THE MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE. 



Other hand, every mind is agreeably affected by the sight of 

 an old house, no longer the habitation of man, serving only 

 as the day retreat of the owl, and the fancied residence of 

 beings of the invisible world. There is a propensity among 

 men to associate every ruined edifice, however great or hum- 

 ble, with some romance or superstition ; and our own people, 

 who have no magnificent ruins, indulge the sentiment which 

 is awakened by them, in their legends of haunted houses, and 

 by identifying these superstitions with every deserted habita- 

 tion. 



It is worthy of remark that although a cottage is more 

 poetical than a palace, when each is in a perfect condition — 

 a ruined palace is more poetical than a ruined cottage. A 

 certain amount of grandeur must be associated with a ruin to 

 render it very effective. After a family have deserted their 

 Siabitation of luxury and splendor, when they themselves 

 have gone down to the grave, and their old mansion is crum- 

 bling with the ravages of time, we lose all that invidious 

 feeling which often prevents us from sympathizing with the 

 wealthy when they are living. They are now on a level 

 with the humblest cottagers, and we look upon their ruined 

 .abode with a feeling of regret for all the elegance and great- 

 ness that have passed away. Indeed, the more noble and 

 magnificent the edifice in its original state, the deeper is the 

 emotion with which we contemplate its ruins. This circum- 

 stance yields a singular charm to the remains of the ancient 

 Grecian temples, and to those gothic castles, that add such a 

 romantic character to certain European landscapes. 



Some of the interesting accompaniments of a ruined build- 

 ing are the plants which are found clustering around its old 

 roof and walls. Nature always decorates what time has 

 destroyed, and when the ornaments of art have crumbled, she 

 rears in their place garlands from her own wilds, and the 

 building, no longer beautiful, is adorned with the greenness 

 of vegetation. Hence certain plants have become intimately 

 allied with ruins, and derive from this alliance a peculiarly 

 romantic interest. Such are the mosses and lichens, the 

 evergreen ferns, the creeper and the most of the saxatile 



