32 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



suggested the beautiful reflections of the 

 poet ! — 



" See on the mountain's southern side, 



" Where the prospect opens wide, 



" Where the evening gilds the tide ; 



" How close and small the hedges lie ! 



" What streaks of meadows cross the eye ! 



" A step, methinks may pass the stream, 



" So little distant dangers seem. 



" So we mistake the future's face, 



" Eyed through Hope's deluding glass ; 



" As yon summits soft and fair, 



" Clad in colours of the air, 



** Which to those who journey near, 



" Barren, brown, and rough appear ; 



" Still we tread the same coarse way, 



" The present's still a cloudy day." * 



The middle distance will sometimes be within 

 the influence of immediate improvement, par- 

 ticularly where the domain is extensive, That 

 improvement will depend upon the character 

 of the ground. If it consists of bold swelling 

 forms, the plantations made to vary and 

 enrich' those forms may also be managed so 

 as to rise occasionally above the horizon, 

 should it require to be broken ; if, on the 

 contrary, the middle distance be of a flatter 



* Grongar Hill. 



