departs,
Like ladies whose tears only harden their hearts.
From thence to the cell[4] of a saint we ascended,
By sage antiquarians most highly commended,
Then climb'd to the Fort where an honest old pair,
Would give you more pleasure than any thing there
Tho' their mutual labours have spread o'er the soil,
Astonishing proofs of their patience and toil.
We trac'd the bold ruins still proudly sublime,
Which yielding to man have found mercy from time,
And adorn the sweet scenes they were rais'd to protect,
With picturesque beauty more fine from defect;
Delighted to find wheresoever we roved
"His[5] Honour of Scriven" revered and beloved
As e'er his forefathers have been in those ages,
When the smile of the lord was more priz'd than his wages,
When the sire of the land in the heart of each vassal
Found a bulwark more strong than the walls of his castle——
From Knaresbro' to Plumpton our party proceeded
A spot that no trav'ller should pass by unheeded,        374
'Tis a miniature landscape redeem'd from the waste
As a species of show-box by nature and taste,
Of small rocks and small groves and a pretty small lake,
Where small parties aquatic excursions may take,
And fancy they view in perspective the shores,
Where Loch Lomond smiles or Geneva deplores.—
So well my first jaunt had agreed with my mood,
That I went to see Harewood the first day I cou'd,        380
But here my description must certainly fail as,
I have not one talent for painting a palace,
But to draw the proud mansion and bring it to view
Will surely dear mother be needless to you,
Since at Chatsworth we Derbyshire folks have all been,
You will judge I am certain of all that I mean,
When I tell you groves, gardens, fine water, and hall,
Seem the gift of good Genii to spangle this ball.

To Studley far-fam'd for its beauty we went        389
And gaz'd on those beauties with placid content,
Tho' some of the amateurs fancied that art,
In planning these grounds had o'er acted her part,
But who hallow'd Fountains thy threshold shall pass
And remember the ponds with their trimmings of grass?
No! rapt in the scene which presents contemplation,
Such objects of interest and deep veneration,
We gaze on the arch whence the ivy descending,
Usurps the rich shrine where the lamp was once pending,
Where the wild currant blooms and the mountain ash bows,
There knelt the great abbot and offer'd his vows,        400
And where the green beech his proud branches displays
Sweet incense ascended with anthems of praise.

Oh visions of old as around me ye roll!
Exalting, delighting, ennobling the soul,
Impress on my mem'ry if not on my rhyme
The pleasure I took in these scenes at the time,
For sure 'twas a pity that feelings so fine
Should evap'rate the moment we set off to dine,
Reducing at once the fine flights of the brain,
To the vulgar subjection of hunger, and pain,
Unlike to those heroes we read of in books,
Who living on sentiment scorn meat and cooks,
Fight, conquer, make love to a princess, and win her,
Without ever asking the aid of a dinner,
And heroines we see thro' five volumes can go,
Immers'd in all sorts of distraction and woe,
Without wetting their lips, thus bestowing the lie,
On the proverb which says that "true sorrow is dry."
But be that their affair 'twas no part of our plan,
For our beaux grew voracious, our ladies look'd wan
So we set off for Rippon with stomachs so hearty,
'Twas well Mrs. Robinson knew of the party,
She gave us a treat which so gladden'd our sight,
That we quickly determin'd to stay here all night
So I thought it was best just to empty my head,
Of its "perilous stuff" ere I ventur'd to bed,
Lest the walk I have taken with gazing and peeping
Should injure my nerves and prevent me from sleeping,
And conceiving a nap is a sound acquisition,
Have sought it (like many) by long composition.

LETTER V.

Rippon, August 6th.

As soon as Aurora came sun-rob'd and flaunting,
Our party arose to continue their jaunting,
But think not our hurry to run after pleasure,
Could make us forget a good breakfast to treasure,
Tho' we talk'd of fine colouring, site and vertû,
Yet we gave the hot rolls and the muffins their due;
And even those misses, "who died to be moving,"
Bare martyrdom well while the toast they were proving;
Our wisdom and foretl ought admit no denial,
Since our strength was about to experience a trial;
For a medical work in the very first chapter,
Declares that "exhaustion arises from rapture,"
And that 'vessels well laden may prove the occasion,
Of giving the head a complete gravitation,'        444
Ye Naiads and Wood-nymphs, ye Sylphs, and ye Gnomes,
Who flirt on the sun-beams, or languish in tombs,
Who skim o'er the foam on the flow'r wave your pinion,
The brilliant machinery of pages Darwinian.
Oh would that your legions so tiny and taper,
Would light on my pen and illumine my paper;
Oh then might I sing lovely Hackfall thy praises,
And paint all the beauties I found in thy mazes,
Those mazes where nature and art have combin'd,
To spread all the charms they together could find.
'Tis fairy land all, yet majestic and great,
Where Solitude sweetly reposes in state,
And smiles on her mansion with features so mild,
We conceive her most pleas'd where the scene is most wild;
Here gurgles the Eure, thro' a thousand meanders,
And unrivall'd cascades swell the stream as it wanders,
Affording such pictures for light, form, and shade,
As Claude might have gaz'd on, or Roussin pourtray'd,
Or Wilson who gave to his country a name,
To rival the proudest possessors of fame.
But alas my poor muse to this subject must knuckle,
Since her song never reaches to more than a chuckle.
Her flame is unlit, and unfledg'd is her wing,
Untun'd too her lyre, for it has but one string;
Therefore 'tis in vain, I sit down to my desk,
To paint the sublime, or the true picturesque,
For my muse is unworthy poor ignorant Vandal,
To pipe on the genius of Hackfall's old sandal.

So imagine dear mother whatever you please,
Of rocks, rivers, waterfalls, temples, and trees,
And now with the grotto, the dell, and the dingle,
Sweet Masham must rise and its sylvan scene mingle;
While Swinton appears in the far distant shade,
By Danby and taste, a new paradise made.
While thus you're employ'd, I'll my pegasus whip on,
For once more the dinner is waiting at Rippon.        482

With tongues like the lark, and with cheeks like the ruby,
See the Unicorn send us all merry to Newby,
Where we saw a fine gall'ry of gods, and a goddess,
Dressed quite à la mode, with short coats and strait boddice.
An empress in robes, and likewise a hero,
Caligula's bust, and a