33 



direction of Corporal Trim*, for they had 

 converted this varied bank into a perfect 

 glacis, only the gazons were omitted. They 

 had however worked up the mould they 

 had wheeled into a sort of a mortar, and 

 had laid it as smooth from top to bottom 

 as a mason could have done with his trowel. 

 From the number of men employed, the 



# These worthy pioneers, their employment, and their 

 employers, are very aptly described in two verses of Tasso, 

 and especially if the word guastatori* be taken in its most 

 obvious sense : 



Inanzi i guastatori avea mandati, 



I vuoti luoghi empir*, & spianar gli erti. 



This is a most complete receipt for spoiling a picturesque 

 spot; and one might suppose, from this military style having 

 been so generally adopted, and every thing laid open, that 

 our improvers are fearful of an enemy being in ambuscade 

 among the bushes of a gravel pit, or lurking in some intri- 

 cate group of trees. In that respect, it must be owned, the 

 clump has infinite merit ; for it may be reconnoitred from 

 every point, and seen through in every direction. 



VOL. I. 



* Spoilere. 

 D 



