$7& 



with painters, though at no age a popular tree, 

 it may seem inconsistent to those who refer the term 

 to art only, tha^; I should deny it to he picturesque. 

 But, as I have before remarked, if all the objects 

 which painters have been fond of representing 

 were therefore to be called picturesque, it would 

 be a term of little distinction. The young ash has 

 every principle of beauty ; freshness and delicacy 

 of foliage, smoothness of bark, elegance of form ; 

 nor am I surprised that Virgil, whose poetry has 

 much of those qualities, should call the ash the 

 most beautiful tree in the woods : but when 

 its -own leaves are changed to the autumnal tint, 

 and when contrasted with ruder or more massive 

 shapes or colours, it becomes part of a picturesque 

 circumstance, without changing its own nature. 



; P.68, l.last. There is hardly any principle of beauty morege- 

 neral than that of smoothness ; baldness, however, 

 seems to be an exception ; as smoothness in that 

 case, though it may contribute to -give a pic- 

 turesque character, can never be beautiful. It is, 

 however, an exception, which instend of weaken- 

 ing, confirms what 1 have said, and shews the 

 constant opposition of the two characters, even 

 where their causes appear to be confounded. 



Baldness is nQt the smoothness of youth, 

 health, and freshness, but of age and decay. It i» 

 picturesque from those associations, and from pro- 

 ducing peculiarity of character, by destroying th«" 

 ivtKtal symmetry and regularity of the face. 



