Perhaps the brook might be made the natural boundary of Arno's Vale, where a deep channel immediately at the foot of the hill, with or without posts and rails, would make an effectual fence. It will perhaps be objected, that a walk by the side of such a fence would be intolerable; yet surely this watercourse, occasionally filled with a lively stream, is far preferable to a dry channel; and yet the only walk from the house at present is by the side of what may be so called: and, far from considering this a defect, I know it derives much of its interest from this very circumstance. A gravel-walk is an artificial convenience, and that it should be protected is one of its first requisites: therefore, so long as good taste and good sense shall coincide, the eye will be pleased where the mind is satisfied. Indeed, in the rage for destroying all that appeared artificial in the ancient style of gardening, I have frequently regretted the destruction of those majestic terraces which marked the precise line betwixt nature and art.
