THE WATER. The natural surface about this place is so flat and level a plain, that it must depend for all its interest and beauty on the wood and the water, without which it would be a dreary waste. But these two objects are, at present, unconnected; and the naked banks of the large ponds give rather the appearance of a land-flood than of natural lakes or pools. It will, therefore, be advisable to clothe very amply the heads and banks of the reservoir pool in such manner as may render it unnecessary to alter its form; except that it might be greatly improved by giving it a better connexion with the lake, all view of which is, at present, excluded from the lower level, by the paling along the side of the road, and from the principal floor, by a wood planted in quincunx rows. This wood was originally intended to have been kept low, but it has now outgrown its intention, and not only hides all view of the water, but also the distant prospect of the forest, hanging down to the banks of the lake; and, in the horizon, that view of the metropolis, which, at such a distance, is a more impressive feature, and in perfect harmony with the grandeur of the scene.
