This has been described as "perhaps the most striking imitation we have of
the great works of nature:" at all events, it has less of the mimicry of
art than similar works on a smaller scale.
Virginia Water will be recollected as the largest sheet of artificial
water in the kingdom, with the exception of that at Blenheim. Near the
high Southampton road it forms the above cascade, descending into a glen
romantically shaded with plantations of birch, willow, and acacia:
Hollowly here the gushing water sounds
With a mysterious voice; one might pause
Upon its echoes till it seemeth a noise
Of fathomless wilds where man had never walked.
Or it may be described in the graphic words of Thomson:
With woods o'erhung, and shagg'd with mossy rocks,
Whence on each side the gushing waters play,
And down the rough cascade white dashing fall,
Or gleam in lengthened vista through the trees.
Beside the cascade is a stone cave, "moss-o'ergrown," constructed with
fragments of immense size and curious shape that were originally dug up at
Bagshot Heath, and are supposed to be the remains of a Saxon cromlech. At
the base of this fall, it becomes a running stream, and after winding
through part of Surrey, falls into the Thames at Chertsey.
The reader will remember Virginia Water as the favourite retreat of the
late King; and this embellishment, (if so artificial a term can be applied
to a cascade,) was made at the bidding of the Royal taste. It is perhaps
the most successful of all the contrivances hereabout to aid the natural
enchantment of the scene. We believe the present Court are not so fervent
in their attachment to this resort; its seclusion must, however, be a
delightful relief to the costly cares of state, and the superb suites of
Windsor Castle. A scene of wild nature, such as the annexed is intended to
represent, is more acceptable to our sight than all the quarterings on the
ceiling of St. George's Hall, though they resemble the pattern-cards of
chivalry.
* * * * *
LACONICS, &c.
Our natural disposition to evil is evident in this: that vice tracks out
its own path and stands in need of no instructor; while it requires not
only example but discipline to initiate us in virtue.
We both read and hear bitter complaints about the uncertainty of human
affairs; and yet it is that uncertainty alone that gives life its relish,
for novelty is the real and radical cause of all our enjoyments.
There is a great outcry against fools on the part of the knaves, but
rather with some want of policy; for if there were no fools in the world
cunning men would have but a bad trade of it.
The faults of a fool are concealed from himself while they are evident to
the world; on the other hand the faults of the wise man are well known to
himself, while they are masked over and invisible to the world.
It has been said that "there is a pleasure in being mad that none but
madmen know;" but this only applies to that species of madness which is
produced by an excess of imagination eventually overpowering the judgment.
The insincerity of a friend has often inclined men to seek for a surer
reliance upon money; these unexpected shocks make us disgusted with our
species, and it is for this reason that old men who have seen so much of
the world become at last avaricious.
The only result an inquirer after truth can derive from metaphysics will
be to find himself silenced for the present; they rarely convince, and for
the most part mislead.
All the discoveries made within the last century were ridiculed and
treated with contempt by our forefathers; yet we are equally prejudiced
and hostile to all those improvements proposed to us, which will in all
probability be adopted by our children.
All those animals who are associated with man become immediately
participants in his misery: when once domesticated they become liable to
disease, whereas in a wild state they could have perished only from age or
accident.
If we subtract from the twenty-four hours the time spent in eating,
sleeping, exercise, and the other indispensable cares of our existence,
what a fraction of time is employed on our intellectual faculties! Again,
there are few who have the means to enable them to study; fewer the talent
requisite; and still fewer the inclination, if they have the ability.
The force of habit affects even our palates; we in time acquire a relish
for what was once perfectly nauseous. The Greenlander detests turtle soup
as much as we abominate train oil.
Courage, or a contempt of danger, is a mere animal quality, and being only
the result of a particular formation, is entitled to no merit, though it
may demand our applause: but moral, or acquired courage, is a very
different thing. A man who is fortunate in the world and has a sacrifice
to make, if he conducts himself with spirit, is also more entitled to our
admiration than a mere desperado.