|
page 108
the bosom of the lake, a magnificent Castle, with towers and
battlements, nothing could be more distinct than the whole
edifice; - after gazing with delight upon it for some time,
as upon a work of enchantment, I could not but regret that
my previous knowledge of the place enabled me to account for
the appearance. It was in fact the reflection of a
pleasure-house called Lyulph's Tower - the tower and
battlements magnified and so much changed in shape as not to
be immediately recognized. In the meanwhile, the
pleasure-house itself was altogether hidden from my view by
a body of vapour stretching over it and along the hill-side
on which it stands, but not so as to have intercepted its
communication with the lake; and hence this novel and most
impressive object, which, if I had been a stranger to the
spot, would, from its being inexplicable, have long detained
the mind in a state of pleasing astonishment.
Appearances of this kind, acting upon the credulity of early
ages, may have given birth to, and favoured the belief in,
stories of subaqueous palaces, gardens, and pleasure-grounds
- the brilliant ornaments of Romance.
With this inverted scene I will couple a much more
extraordinary phenomenon, which will shew how other elegant
fancies may have had their origin, less in invention than in
the actual processes of nature.
About eleven o'clock on the forenoon of a winter's day,
coming suddenly, in company of
|