BEGGARS ON HORSEBACK. 119 



chilly, opaline tints of morning-, waiting in com- 

 placent silence for the inevitable burst of admira- 

 tion. On three sides of it was a hazy shimmer, 

 a misty sparkle, betraying the environing sea, from 

 the river Dee to the Bay of Cardigan, and close 

 about us were the grey spines and huge slants 

 of the Snowdon range. George Herbert, with a 

 fine discrimination, has said — 



'' Praise the sea, but stay on shore." 



And in respectful adaption of this counsel, we 

 would say to those who ascend heights for the 

 sake of the view, that a mountain, in shape, in 

 colour, in sentiment, in every possible aspect, is 

 more praiseworthy from its base than from its 

 summit. Moreover, as to the view itself, it seems 

 to us that a beautiful view is not a mere matter 

 of miles seen from a great height. The world 

 was obviously made to be regarded en profile, and 

 not to be stared at, flat-faced, from above ; and 

 the view from the top of Snowdon impresses the 

 imagination rather than the sense of beauty. To 



