Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume I.djvu/278

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[266]

Pursuing the winding walk from the bath, we catch the head of the upper canal, a grotto shrouded with shrubs, within whose dark recess we see a cataract, the effect of which would be very good, were not the figure too formal, and the other contemptible fall of water visible. A vista now occurs, discovering the canal lengthwise, the other pools cut into a variety of mathematical forms; and three antique statues—a jumble of puerilities that we are hardly recompensed for by the lofty wood that hems in the whole scene, with its elegant Gothic tower. The next opening embraces a view of the lake, the canal, the groupe of Hercules and Antæus, the superb bank of wood, and the rotunda pushing its head above the shade, supported by eight Doric pillars; beneath which the eye reposes on a long extent of velvet sod, sprinkled with trees. Crossing the head of the canal, the path penetrates a gloomy recess towards the reservoir, where we catch to the right the Gothic seat, and to the left the prettiest feature of the grounds, a little wild scenery called Quebec; consisting of an irregular pool, with its own natural island in the centre, covered with wood. A pillar is here erected to the memory of General Wolfe, but happily for the picturesque effect, it has been long compleatly hidden by the trees. Reaching the Temple of Piety,