THE WATER. Although the large circular pond at Woburn was originally made by art, yet it has very much the appearance of a Cheshire meer; and I shall, therefore, consider the mode of treating it the same. There is something so fascinating in the appearance of water, that my predecessor (Brown) thought it carried its own excuse, however unnatural its situation; and, therefore, in many places under his direction, I have found water on the tops of hills, and have been obliged to remove it into lower ground, because the deception was not sufficiently complete to satisfy the mind, as well as the eye. Common observers suppose that water is usually found, and, therefore, is always most natural, in the lowest ground; but a moment's consideration will evince the error of this supposition. Lakes and pools are generally in the highest situations in their respective countries; and without such a provision in nature, the world could not be supplied with rivers: these have their source in the highest mountains; and, after innumerable checks to retard and expand their waters, they gradually descend towards the sea.
