PART t. FOR A COUNTRY RESIDENCE. 665 



of Scotland. Had some such plan as the above been adopted, 

 these estates (not to mention the many hundreds of others 

 which are occasionally falling a prey in the same manner) 

 would have been gladly purchased by gentlemen eager to pos- 

 sess a naturally grand and romantic situation: — either a situ* 

 ation which they might have purchased and improved with 

 comparatively little expense: or, one where much improvement 

 might have taken place with excellent effect, and which would 

 have been applied had it fallen into the hands of a suitable 

 proprietor. But by the present mode the finest scenery is 

 grasped by a contracted mercenary person, who- perhaps not 

 only offends taste by his whimsical improvements, but who by 

 neglecting his own real interest injures that of the community. 

 Such unfortunate occurrences are shocking to those who view 

 the country, not merely as it is, but as it might be, and are 

 highly adverse to the progress of taste. Those who do not 

 understand these matters themselves, if they value their own 

 interest and happiness, and the improved beauty of the coun- 

 try, should not fail to consult others, previously to purchasing 

 landed property. 



After these general remarks, which are designed to shew the 

 propriety of attending to the object in view in purchasing land 

 to form a residence, I proceed to discriminate, in few words, 



4 Q 



