SOUECES OP PIC'i'URESQUENESS IN TEEES. 39 



liigli as the lower brauclies, and, twisting round, 

 form, in many places, portals so wide, that a man 

 and horse may ride upright through them.* — This 

 indeed is somewhat higher than picturesque beauty 

 requires ; it borders rather on the fantastic. In 

 general, however, the higher the roots are, the more 

 picturesque they appear. 



To the adventitious beauties of trees, we may 

 add their susceptibility of motion, which is capable, 

 at least, of being a considerable source of beauty. 

 The waving heads of some, and the undulation of 

 others, give a continual variety to their forms. In l/ 

 Nature the motion of trees is certainly a circum- 

 stance of great beauty. Shakespeare formerly 

 made the observation : — 



' Things in motion sooner catch the eye, 

 Than what stirs not.' 



To the painter, also, the moving tree affords often 

 a piece of useful machinery, when he wishes to 

 express the agitation of air. In this light it may 

 even be considered as an objection to trees of [ 

 firmer branches, as the Oak, that their resistance 

 to every breath of air deprives them, at least, of 

 one source of beauty, and subjects them to be 



* l:fat. Hist., Book xvi. chap. 



