440 
The enjoyment of scenery, it is true, depends a good deal upon 
the season, tlie weather, and the state of our digestive organs ; but, 
for our present purpose, we may regard these circumstances as 
favourable. And although scenery alone — meaning, literally, the 
aspect of the land — may be dull and lifeless, if not actually 
depressing, yet when the surroundings are pleasant, and what we 
call picturesque, it will readily be admitted that such scenery 
brings enjoyment to the least-cultivated mind. 
Some questions then arise, which have been considered by 
Principal Shairp in his most interesting work ‘ On Poetic Inter- 
pretation of Nature.’ Can scientific knowledge of the subject lend 
any additional charm to the landscape? Would it not, in fact, 
tend to its disenchantment? Of course no one would suppose 
that an artist could less appreciate a scene from his knowledge of 
form or colour, and all the elements that combine to make a 
picture ; but geologists, with their long names, tedious detail, 
and much-debated explanations, are, on first thoughts, eminently 
calculated to banish every trace of sentiment. Yet science need 
not take all the poetry out of Nature, for Mr. Shairp observes 
that, however much a man may know of any subject, he is but 
raised to take a better view of “ the great beyond and whether 
one feels a “ spontaneous glow in the presence of the great 
spectacles of Nature or not, depends not on his scientific know- 
ledge, but on his natural temperament, on the amount of soul 
there is in him, underlying his attainments.” For “ there is 
a poetic glow of wonder and emotion before science begins 
its work ; there is a larger, deeper, more instructed wonder when 
it ends.” 
Looked at in this light, some knowledge of the physical causes 
which have originated our scenery may well increase our enjoy- 
ment : in illustration of which, Ave may compare our thoughts on 
contemplating a ruined abbey or castle, knowing nothing of its 
past, with those that would arise were we acquainted with all or 
many of the events in its history. 
For all that, the lecture on the old ruin may, with some 
exponents, prove dry and irksome ; so may be my attempt to 
picture the evolution of our present scenery ; and it must rest with 
each one individually to develop into poetry the following prosaic 
facts and inferences. 
