button to main menu   West's Guide to the Lakes, 1778/1821

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Page 43:-
sides. The slopes are planted with shrubs and trees in such a manner to improve the elevation; and the waving woods that fly from it on each wing give it an airy and noble appearance. The south front is in the modern taste, extended by an arcade. The north is in the Gothic style, with a piazza and wings. The apartments are elegantly furnished, and the house is good and convenient. But, what recommends itself most to the curious, is a plan of pleasure ground, on a small scale, containing beauties equal in number to gardens of the greatest extent in England. The variety of culminated grounds, and winding slopes, comprehended within this sweet spot, furnish all the advantage of mountains and vales, woods and water. By the judicious management of these assemblages, the late owner performed wonders. Consulting the genius of the place, he called in, to aid his plan, and harmonized to this little spot, the features of a country vast in extent, and by nature highly picturesque [1], whose distant parts agreeing with what was immediately near him, form a most magnificent whole. For, besides the ornamental grounds, the views from the house are both pleasing and surprising. They are at once grand and ele-
[1] The note intended for this place proving too long, it is inserted in the Addenda, and makes Article VIII. X.
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