lity in nature's bounty
seems enjoyed by the whole creation. One could scarcely forbear thinking
those happy times were come, when 'The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young
lion, and the fatling together, and a young child shall lead them. The
wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert
shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.'

At the verge of this wood, which extends to the river I have mentioned,
without perceiving we were entering a building, so well is the outside
of it concealed by trees, we found ourselves in a most beautiful grotto,
made of fossils, spars, coral, and such shells as are at once both fine
and rustic; all of the glaring, tawdry kind are excluded, and by the
gloom and simplicity preserved, one would imagine it the habitation of
some devout anchoret. Ivy and moss in some places cover, while they seem
to unite, the several materials of the variegated walls. The rivulet
which runs through the wood falls down one side of the grotto with great
rapidity, broken into various streams by the spar and coral, and passing
through, forms a fine cascade just at the foot of the grotto, whence it
flows into the river. Great care is taken to prevent the place from
growing damp, so that we sat some time in it with safety, admiring the
smooth surface of the river, to which it lies very open.

As the ladies had some daily business on their hands which they never
neglect, we were obliged to leave this lovely scene, where I think I
could have passed my life with pleasure, and to return towards the
house, though by a different way from that we came, traversing the other
side of the wood. In one spot where we went near the verge, I observed a
pale, which, upon examination, I found was continued for some acres,
though it was remarkable only in one place. It is painted green, and on
the inside a hedge of yews, laurel, and other thick evergreens rises to
about seven or eight feet high. I could not forbear asking what was thus
so carefully enclosed. The ladies smiled on each other, but evaded
answering my question, which only increased my curiosity. Lamont, not
less curious, and more importunate, observed that the inclosure bore
some resemblance to one of Lord Lamore's, where he kept lions, tigers,
leopards, and such foreign animals, and he would be hanged, if the
ladies had not made some such collection, intreating that he might be