128 OUTDOOR STUDIES 
Charlemagne, the oak of Clovis, of Queen 
Blanche, of Henri Quatre, of Sully, — the alley 
of Richelieu,—-the rendezvous of St. Hérem, 
—the star of Lamballe and of the Princesses, 
a star being a point where several paths or 
roads converge. It is said that every topo- 
graphical work upon these forests has turned 
out to be a history of the French monarchy. 
Yet surely men lose nearly as much as they 
gain by such subordination of imperishable 
beauty to the perishable memories of man. It 
may not be wholly unfortunate, that in the 
absence of those influences which come to 
older nations from ruins and traditions, we 
must go more directly to nature. Art may 
either rest upon other art, or it may rest di- 
rectly upon the original foundation ; the one is 
easier, the other more valuable. Direct de- 
pendence on nature leads to deeper thought, 
and affords the promise of far fresher results. 
Why should I wish to enter upon indoor studies 
at Berlin or Heidelberg, when I possess the un- 
exhausted treasures of this outdoor study here? 
The walls of my study are of ever-changing 
verdure, and its roof and floor of ever-varying 
blue. I never enter it without a new heaven 
above and new thoughts below. The lake has 
no lofty shores and no level ones, but a series 
of undulating hills, fringed with woods from end 
