JANUARY. 19 



scriptions, which should be either original or selected, and 

 calculated to induce the visitor to draw a pleasant and in- 

 structive moral from the scenes around, and to pay proper 

 respect to the preservation of the objects contained within 

 the place. After a spot had been selected for an inscription, 

 a small premium might be offered for the one most suitable 

 for the purpose. These little circumstances must produce a 

 favorable influence upon the public taste, and increase the 

 attractiveness of the grounds. On the principal entrance, for 

 example, I would place a tablet of marble, and engrave upon 

 it the following lines : — 



INSCRIPTION. 



Stranger, when first j'ou enter in these grounds, 

 Ponder awhile, and see with how much care 

 Nature has reared all things in proper place, 

 And crowned each hill and dale with beauty. See 

 How every bird that sings upon the bough 

 Seems conscious of his perfect freedom here. 

 How carelessly they hop from tree to tree : 

 And man, whom elsewhere they regard their foe, 

 They seem to welcome with their tuneful notes, 

 Half conscious of their own security. 

 Then be not false to these kind promises 

 By every sign held out to beast and bird. 

 Let not the murderous gun's report alarm 

 The harmless habitant of this wild wood. 

 Let man, who calls himself creation's lord. 

 Show himself worthy of this boasted name, 

 By bringing here a heart that feels a care 

 For every harmless thing endowed with life. 

 Here let the gunner's cruel pastime cease, 

 And every visitant within these bounds 

 Be true to nature and humanity. 



I have written the above to answer merely as a suggestion. 

 1 would not recommend this identical piece, but something 

 with a similar moral. Such an inscription, meeting the eye 

 of a visitor near the entrance of the grounds, would predis- 

 pose him to observe the laws of humanity, and to allow the 

 harmless denizens of the forest to remain unmolested. 



