155 



to it such magical effects of light and co- 

 lours,* as can hardly be conceived by those 

 who have not seen a jet d'eau on a large 

 scale. I am indeed persuaded, that had 

 there been specimens of natural water- 

 spouts near Rome, such as those in Iceland, 

 he would not in ornamented scenes, have 

 imitated those rude circumstances, what- 

 ever they may be, which give them the ap- 

 pearance of being natural. My reason for 

 thinking so is, that there are often cascades, 

 as well as fountains, in the old Italian gar- 

 dens; and they are manifestly artificial, 

 without any attempt to imitate that style 

 of rudeness and irregularity, which charac- 

 terizes those which are natural. The stones, 

 indeed, of which they are composed, are 

 rough ; but they bear something of the same 

 relation to the rough stones of a natural 

 cascade and to their disposition, which the 

 rustic used by architects, bears to the 

 roughness and irregularity of a natural 



* Et d;ins l'air s'enflammant aux feux d'un soleil pur, 

 pieuvoir en gouttes d'or, d'emeraude, et d'azuur. 



kesjardins, chant. 1. 



