INTEODUOTION. XV 



grapher says : — ' These tours were made for tlie 

 purpose of admiring the works of creation; and 

 with a view of seeing the most picturesque scenery 

 in this kingdom, he visited those spots that are 

 proverbial for their beauty. One of the leading 

 features in Gilpin's character was his very ardent 

 love of the works of Nature. His numerous 

 writings on picturesque beauty demonstrate that, 

 from the blade of grass to the towering Elm, from 

 the level plain to the stupendous mountain, from 

 the running rivulet to the majestic ocean, his at- 

 tention was directed to investigate their beauties, 

 not merely with the curiosity of the naturalist, 

 but with the reverence of a man who beholds all 

 creation " prompt with remembrance of a present 

 God." ' Whilst on his tours Gilpin adopted the 

 plan of sketching any scenery which struck him 

 as being remarkable, and he thus made a collec- 

 tion of drawings for illustrating his works on 

 picturesque beauty. 



In 1777 he resigned his school at Cheam, having, 

 at the end of the twenty-fivo years during which he 

 had held it, realized a sum of ten thousand pounds. 

 In the same year one of his old pupils — William 



