self-reliance, which characterises the Roman. The climate and the scenery of England are admirably adapted to the perfection of a villa. The great charm of our landscapes is their colouring—so quiet, yet so refreshing. The fine old trees, and the fine old tree standing by itself, are peculiar to our fields; the rich sweep of grass so vividly green, the prodigality of garden flowers, and a sky whose intense blue owes the depth of its purple to the white clouds which float above in broken masses,—all these belong to a style of natural beauty which is entirely English. It is connected only with enjoyment; nothing startles as in the vast precipices of Switzerland; nothing brings the past too vividly to mind as in the sad, though lovely ruins of Greece: all is tranquil, and redolent of summer. It is the cultivated, rather than the artificial; just enough of nature for all the purposes of art.
