344 Gilpin's toeest scenery. 



near tlie fading tree, as to see Nature in decay ; 

 but at a distance tlie withered effect is not easily 

 discerned. In tlie wane of Autumn, however, there 

 are other defects. The Ash, and some other 

 trees, have deserted their station in the forest; 

 they have shed their leaves, and left a cheerless 

 blank. Besides, the verdure of the forest is too 

 much wasted; and the brown and yellow tints, 

 beautiful as they are, become too predominant; 

 for the prevalence of these hues in Autumn fatigues 

 the eye, no less than the prevalence of green in 

 Summer. Only, indeed, the Autumnal tints will 

 ever be more varied. The intermediate time is 

 the season of picturesque beauty ; when the greens 

 and the browns and the yellows are blended 

 together by a variety of middle tints which often 

 create the most exquisite harmony. 



Of all the hues of Autumn, those of the Oak are 

 commonly the most harmonious. As its vernal 

 tints are more varied than those of other trees, so 

 are its autumnal. In an oaken wood you see 

 every variety of green, and every variety of 

 brown; owing, either to the different exposure 

 of the tree, its different soil, or its different 



