BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEH. I 



of Land and Water ; but as it is to the appendages 

 and productions of the former we mean first to di- 

 rect our thoughts, we will leave the consideration of 

 Nature's mighty Reservoir, and the wonders of the- 

 Ocean, to an after occasion, and will proceed to 

 consider the magnificent scene which the dry land 

 presents. 



The first thing that here strikes the imagination 

 is that wonderful diversity every where observable 

 and those numerous inequalities so conspicuous on 

 its surface. On one part, we behold the gently rising 

 hillock, scarcely perceptible amidst the surrounding 

 level; in another, the tremendous precipice, yawn- 

 ing horribly over the mountain's brow ! Here a 

 deep-sunk glen, imbosomed among rocks, recedes 

 from the eye, and screens the little rivulet that glides 

 along its bottom ; there, the lofty summits of the 

 Andes and the Alps, with cloud capt tops wrapt in 

 garments of perpetual snow, bid defiance to vegeta- 

 tion or smile above the blast in sunshine, while the 

 reverberating sound of distant thunder proclaims the 

 raging of the storm below. 



In one place we behold the pleasantly sheltered 

 meadow, decked in all its luxuriance of herbage, 

 and in a another a wide naked waste, or sea-like 

 fen, losing itself in the distant prospect. Here, broad 

 and rapid rivers separate nations at variance ; there 

 the purling stream, partly fordable, and partly sur- 

 mounted by the convenient bridge, unites and con- 

 nects those who enjoy the mild blessings of peace. 

 Here a vast tract of uncultivated heath stretche* 



