298 RUINS. 



reflections nearly allied to the sentiment of ruins. But 

 it is not every scene of ruins that is capable of yielding 

 pleasure to the beholder. There is nothing agreeable in 

 a view of the embers of a wide conflagration, except a 

 gratification of the curiosity. Such a spectacle brings 

 to the mind only the idea of dissolution and misfortune, 

 which is painful, and there is nothing connected with it 

 to awaken any counteracting sentiment. On the other 

 hand, every mind is agreeably affected by the sight of an 

 old house, no longer the habitation of man, serving only 

 as the day retreat of the owl and the fancied residence 

 of beings of the invisible world. There is a propensity 

 among men to associate every ruined edifice, however 

 great or humble, with some romance or superstition ; and 

 our own people, who have no magnificent ruins, indulge 

 the sentiment which is awakened by them in their legends 

 of haunted houses, and by identifying these superstitions 

 with every deserted habitation. 



It is worthy of remark that although a cottage is more 

 poetical than a palace, when each is in a perfect condi- 

 tion, a ruined palace is more poetical than a ruined 

 cottage. A certain amount of grandeur must be asso- 

 ciated with a ruin to render it very effective. After a 

 family have deserted their habitation of luxury and 

 splendor, when they themselves have gone down to the 

 grave, and their old. mansion is crumbling with the rav- 

 ages of time, we lose all that invidious feeling which 

 often prevents us from sympathizing with the- wealthy 

 when they are living. They are now on a level with the 

 humblest cottagers, and we look upon their ruined abode 

 with a feeling of regret for all the elegance and greatness 

 that have passed away. Indeed, the more noble and 

 magnificent the edifice in its original state, the deeper is 

 the emotion with which we contemplate its ruins. This 

 circumstance yields a singular charm to the remains of 



