263 



and fortune-teller ; and by him a few worn- 

 out asses : one loaded with rusty panniers, 

 the other with old tattered cloaths and 

 furniture. The hovel was propt and over- 

 hung by a blighted oak; its bare roots 

 staring through the crumbling bank on 

 which it stood. A gleam of light from un- 

 der a dark cloud, glanced on the most 

 prominent parts : the rest was buried in 

 deep shadow : except where the dying em- 

 bers 



" Taught light to counterfeit a gloom." 



The three friends stood a long while con- 

 templating this singular scene ; but the 

 two lovers of painting could hardly quit 

 it: they talked in raptures of every part; 

 of the old hovel, the broken ground, the 

 blasted oak, gypsies, asses, panniers, the 

 catching lights, the deep shadows, the 

 rich mellow tints, the grouping, the com- 

 position, the effect of the whole ; and the 

 words beautiful, and picturesque, were a 

 hundred times repeated. The uninitiated 

 friend listened with some surprise; and 



when their raptures had a little subsided, 



T 2 



