604 



PRACTICE OF 



FORMING 



BOOK II. 



2. Suppose a situation, the natural character of which is 

 chiefly beauty. This estate, not very large, is situated on a 

 small eminence, sloping with gentle undulations toward the 

 south. The surface in general is smooth, beautifully waved, 

 and clothed with a carpet of the freshest verdure. It is sur* 

 rounded by a country abounding in little hills and lakes; — the 

 former varied by pasture, cattle, corn-fields, and villages; and 

 the latter by islands and fishing-boats. The natural character 

 of this place, then, is beauty, in the limited sense of the word ; 

 that is, beauty with the least mixture of the sublime and the 

 romantic. It is to be improved by the addition of wood, to 

 give intricacy; and with beautiful buildings, for character, or- 

 nament, and utility. Upon a convenient swell, backed by a 

 little hill, build an elegant Grecian villa. Clothe the hill be- 

 hind it with wood, and vary the park with light and airy groups 

 of ash, beech, and lime, gliding into each other, and connected 

 by thickets covering the eminences and swells. Let honey- 

 suckle and virgins'-bower twine round the stems of the more 

 detached trees, or hang in graceful festoons from their branches. 

 Let the pasture be cropt by horses and cows, and kept smooth 

 by the bite of sheep and lambs: all of which intermingling 

 among their stems will form groups expressive of rural gaiety 

 and beauty. Vary the kept ground with the most elegant 

 shrubs and flowers. Lead one of the springs in a murmuring 

 rill to a little valley, and there let it spread into a crystal lake, 



