Extent and beauty have ever appeared to me distinct objects; and a small place, in which the boundary is not obtrusive, may be more interesting, and more consonant to elegance and convenience, than a large tract of land, which has no other merit than that it consists of many hundred acres, or is encompassed by a pale of many miles in circuit, while, perhaps, within this area, half the land is ploughed in succession. The drawing-room, at present, looks towards the south, but there appear to be several reasons for altering its aspect; 1st. because the hall and dining-room command the same prospect, but more advantageously; 2nd. because the windows being near the hall door, a carriage-road, which must occasionally be dirty, becomes a bad foreground; and, lastly, the view towards the east will not only be different from the others, but is of such a nature as to appear wholly appropriate to the place, and, therefore, in strict harmony with the quiet home scene of a country residence: it consists of a beautiful lawn or valley, having its opposite bank richly clothed with wood, which requires very little assistance to give it an irregular and pleasing outline; and is ï¾°ne ï¾°f the many subjects, more capable of delighting the eye in nature, than in a picture.
