WATER SCENERY. 67 



when we come in sight of a lake or stream. What was 

 before monotonous is now agreeably varied ; what before 

 was spiritless is now animated and cheering. A similar 

 effect is produced by the sight of a little cottage in a des- 

 ert or uninhabited region, or in the midst of an unculti- 

 vated plain. The eye wanders about unsatisfied, until 

 it sees this human dwelling, when it rests contented, be- 

 cause it has found something to fix the attention and to 

 awaken a sympathetic interest. We are not always 

 aware how greatly the beauty of landscape is founded on 

 our habitual associations. At the sight of water we think 

 at once of the numerous delights, bounties, and luxuries 

 that flow from its beneficent streams; and perhaps 

 nothing in a prospect so instantaneously awakens the 

 idea of plenty and of the beneficence of nature. Water 

 is, therefore, the very picture of benevolence, without 

 which the face of the country would seem cold, ungen- 

 erous, and barren. 



A feeling of seclusion is one of the agreeable emotions 

 connected with a ramble in the woods ; and some delight- 

 ful spots derive their principal attractions from their evi- 

 dent adaptedness to this security from observation. When 

 we are walking, either alone or in company, we do not 

 like to be met by others or to be observed by them. A 

 little sequestered spot, that seems to offer all this desira- 

 ble shelter from the eyes of the world, is always singu- 

 larly attractive. But those are the most eligible retreats 

 in which one might be secluded and at the same time 

 accommodated with a pleasant and extensive prospect. 

 To be able to look out upon the w^orld from a little nook, 

 while unobserved and not liable to be interrupted by 

 others, affords one an experience of the same emotion 

 with which we contemplate the raging of a storm from a 

 place of comfort and security. 



Water is in a high degree favorable to the attainment 



