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Page 291:-
The bounds of this article will not admit of more than a few
leading remarks on this subject; but, I fancy, if the above hints
were observed, they would be sufficient, under the influence of
taste, for the intended purpose. And though they are thrown out
more particularly with a view to one part of the country included
in this tour, yet it all so much alike, in several respects, that
they might be attended to with the same advantage in every other.
And were these ideas verified, I flatter myself this northern
district would be worthy of being termed the British Arcadia, and
exhibit, nearly to the utmost pitch of the poet's fancy,
'An ample theatre of silvan grace.'
Mason's English Garden.
This to the more wealthy of its inhabitants.- To the more humble
I will just subjoin a finishing word.
That you are placed in one of the most beautiful districts in the
kingdom, the number of its visitors of all ranks constantly
testify; and you will see it is one purpose of this book to make
it still more known. And if you be not the happiest people, the
fault must be in yourselves; since nature has bountifully
bestowed upon you every essential requisite of enjoyment. Be
therefore content to pursue your innocent, though humble
vocations, without letting a wish wander beyond your peaceful
vales; and now and then turn your thoughts towards those
particulars which annually bring among you so many wealthy and
respectable visitors. Keep your highways in good order (for, as
observed before, their beauty is essential to rural beauty[1]).
Preserve your native
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