Horace Walpole. 197 



prejudices, and approaching so much nearer 

 to ourselves than his predecessors. 



" The pencil of his imagination," writes his con- 

 temporary of him, "bestowed all the arts of land- 

 scape on the scenes he handled. The great principles 

 on which he worked were perspective, and light and 

 shade. Groups of trees broke too uniform, or too 

 extensive a lawn, evergreens and woods were opposed 

 to the glare of the champain ; and where the view was 

 less fortunate, or so exposed as to be beheld at once, 

 he blotted out some parts by thick shades, to divide it 

 into variety, or to make the richest scene more en- 

 chanting by reserving it to a farther advance of the 

 spectator's steps. . . . 



" But of all the beauties he added to the face of this 

 beautiful country, none surpassed his management of 

 water. . . . The gentle stream was taught to serpentine 

 seemingly at its leisure ; and where discontinued by 

 different levels, its course appeared to be concealed 

 by thickets, properly interspersed, and glittered again 

 at a distance, where it might be supposed naturally 

 to arrive. Its borders were smoothed, but preserved 

 their waving irregularity. A few trees scattered 

 here and there on its edges sprinkled the tame bank 

 that accompanied its meanders ; and when it disap- 

 peared among the hills, shades descending from the 

 heights leaned towards its progress, and framed the 

 distant point of light under which it was lost, as it 

 turned aside to either hand of the blue horizon." 



