]2 INTRODUCTION, 



But other wanderings you shall find, 



Of various power to stir the mind. 



Of Penge, the embowering wood explore, — 



Of pleasure there an ample store; 



Scenes which the artist, charm'd, shall trace, 



And on his canvass lay with grace : 



There pensive, tranquil thought might dwell ; 



There, too, might hermit choose his cell ; 



And there, the lords of the domain, 



The warblers, hold triumphant reign. 

 Obedient now to Pleasure's wand, 



Let Beckenham your steps command: 



The region, if not classic, such 



You scarcely can admire too much. 



Behold its churchyard picturesque, 



With gates that trench on the grotesque ; 



Then pass through grove and sombre glade, 



For poet's haunt in autumn made. 



The whirring pheasant here may too, 



At eve or morning startle you, 

 . As from the wood, with sudden spring, 



She flies on heavy, labouring wing. 

 f 

 When at Forest-hill it winds between woods ; and thence, 

 passing on through Sydenham, it again winds through Penge-tcoocl 

 to Croydon. For several miles, while on theelevation, there are no 

 locks; hence, from its sinuous course, it adds considerably to 

 the very beautiful scenery through which it parses. 



