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with you, that the upper scene is harsh, 

 and the lower one soft and harmonious. 



-Your point is to prove, that smoothness is 

 not a principle of the beautiful, nor rough- 

 ness of the picturesque : then in order to 



make it appear that smoothness may be 

 harsh and irritating, and analogous to what 

 roughness is to the touch, you shew us a 

 piece of still smooth water, and a glaring 

 white building reflected in it; which proves 

 nothing more, than what every body will 

 acknowledge, namely, that a strong light 

 is irritating, and that white objects are 

 those which reflect light most strongly: for 

 the water itself, my good friend, is only a 

 mirror, and no more responsible for the 

 qualities of the objects which it reflects, 

 than any other mirror. If a very perfect 

 looking-glass were shewn to you, would you 

 deny that the clearness and evenness of 

 its surface were beauties, because a Bar- 

 dolph, with his flaming carbuncled face in 

 full sun-shine, happened to be standing 

 opposite to it ? This water is the looking- 

 glass, and that building (though if it had 



