224 SIR GEORGE BEAUMONT. 



had not some difficulty arisen about the pur- 

 chase, which could not well be got over. Had 

 the idea been carried into execution, what a 

 paradise might have been formed here ; nature, 

 beautiful as it is already, made more so by art, 

 under the cautious guidance of the painter and 

 poet. You may remember in the epistle of the 

 latter to the former, an expression of regret at 

 the failure of the intention following his 

 admirable description of the scene. 



"I sighed and left the spot, 

 Unconscious of its own untoward lot, 

 And thought in silence with regret too keen, 

 Of unexperienced joys that might have been ; 

 Of neighbourhood and intermingled arts, 

 And golden summer days uniting cheerful hearts." 



AMICUS. It is a spot to linger at and desire, 

 and yet it is untenanted, except by the small 

 farmer and cotter, which surprises me. 



PISCATOR. What prevented Sir George Beau- 

 mont from having a possession here no doubt 

 has prevented others, the difficulty of effect- 

 ing a purchase. Where properties are very 

 small, as in the Lake District commonly, and 

 very much intermixed and often entailed, he 

 who requires more than one acre or two will 



