112 
RURAL HOURS. 
loaded with them ; unfortunately, no one in the house was aware 
of their visit at the time. At that early hour, the whole village 
was quiet, and only a few persons saw them. They were not 
molested, and remained some Httle time, fluttering about the trees, 
or settling on them in large parties. When the fog rose, they 
took flight again. What a pity to have missed so unusual a 
sight ! 
Saturday, dth. — Charming day. Pleasant row on the lake, 
which looks very inviting this warm weather ; the vieAvs are al- 
ways pleasing : hills and forest, farms and groves, encircling a 
beautiful sheet of water. 
There is certainly no natural object, among all those which 
make up a landscape, winning so much upon our affection, as 
water. It is an essential part of prospects, widely different in 
character. Mountains form a more striking and imposing feature, 
and they give to a country a character of majesty which cannot 
exist without them ; but not even the mountains, with all their 
sublime prerogative, can wholly satisfy the mind, wlien stripped 
of torrent, cascade, or lake ; while, on the other hand, if there be 
only a quiet brook running through a meadow in some familiar 
spot, the eye will often turn, unconsciously, in that direction, and 
linger with interest upon the humble stream. Observe, also, that 
the waters in themselves are capable of the highest degree of 
beauty, without the aid of any foreign element to enhance their 
dignity ; give them full sway, let them spread themselves into 
their widest expanse, let them roll into boundless seas, enfolding 
the earth in their embrace, with half the heavens for their canopy, 
and assuredly they have no need to borrow from the mountain 
or the forest. 
