CHORUS. Of Pompey and Cæsar unknown is the tomb, Blest Genius of Type-down the vista of time, As thy flight leaves behind thee this vex'd generation, Be thy temple the mind! There like Vesta enshrin'd, Watch and foster the Flame, which inspires human kind! CHORUS. Preserving all arts, may all arts cherish thee; AMERICAN SCENERY-FOR THE PORT FOLIO, THE WOODLANDS. Of this beautiful villa to give an adequate description, the powers of genius should be united with the ardour of enthusiasm. The grounds, which occupy an extent of nearly ten acres, are laid out with uncommon taste; and in the construction of the edifice solidity and elegance are combined. The building is of stone; and in the Doric order; the north front is ornamented, in the centre, by six Ionic pilasters, and on each side with a pavilion; the south front by a magnificent portico, twenty-four feet in height, supported by six stately Tuscan columns. At the entrance, by the north door, where there is a vestibule sixteen feet in diameter, a corridor leads on the east side to a fine oval dining room thirty feet by twenty-two, and another on the west to the library, a square room with two bows, thirty feet by eighteen. In this latter apartment, among other models of the art, are three excellent paintings which must always be viewed with pleasure, and ought not to pass unnoticed: a portrait of Andrew Hamilton, the first of this family who settled in North America, and whose fame for eloquence and profound legal knowledge will be long remembered, a masterly copy VOL, II. 3 M second by Wertmuller, from an original by Sir Godfrey Kneller; the FR With these two rooms communicate two others of smaller size, which may be justly called two large cabinets of gems. On every side the hring canvas speaks." The walls are decorated with the works of several of the ancient painters, from the Italian, Dutch, and Flemish schools, many of which are of great merit. Those perhaps most conspicuously eminent are four very fine paintings by Gerhard Douw, a delicious fruit piece by Van Huysum, and a Holy Family bySchudt. Let it be mentioned, however, to the praise of a living artist, Wertmuller, that, compared with all these fine specimens of the ancients, his exquisite picture of a half length Danae, ranks among them as proudly preeminent. From either of these cabinets the entrance is to a grand saloon, possessing local advantages unusually attractive. It measures forty-three feet by twenty, and seventeen feet in height. One end of it is graced by an admirable figure of Antinous, in statuary marble, and the other by a beautiful group of Apollo in pursuit of Daphne with Pencus at her feet, executed in bronze, in a style worthy the Grecian sculptors. If thus far the eye has been pleased from viewing these fine productions of art, how much more will it be gratified when contemplating the prospect that bursts upon the sight from the centre of this saloon The verdant mead, the spacious lawn, Schuylkill's lucid stream, the floating bridge, the waves here checked by the projecting rock, there overshadowed by the inclining trees, until by meandering in luxuriant folds, the winding waters lead the entranced eye to Delaware's proud river, on whose swelled bosom rich merchant ships are seen descending fraught with the vast surplus of our fertile soil, or others mounting heavily the stream, deep laden with the wealth of foreign climes. MASHANK Such are, in part, the beauties of this delightful scenery, and had the view terminated with high lands, or some o'ertowering mountain, I no prospect could have been more perfect. The attention is next excited by the grounds, in the arrangement of which the hand of Taste is every where discerned. Foreign trees from China, Italy, and Turkey, chosen for their rich foliage, or balmy odours, are diffusely scattered, or mingled with sweet shrubs a and plants, bordering the walks; and as the fragrant path winds round, openings, judiciously exposed, such as the situation of the lands and riveis best admits, diversify the scene. At one spot the city, with its lofty spire, appears; at another, a vast expanse of water; at a third, ver dure and water, happily blending, form a complete landscape; and again another, where the champaign country is broken with inequality of ground. Now, at the descent, is seen a creek, o'erhung with rocky. fragments, and shaded by the thick forest's gloom. Ascending thence, towards the western side of the mansion, the green-house presents itself to view, and displays to the observer a scene, than which nothing that has preceded it can excite more admiration. The front, including the hot-house on each side, measures one hundred and forty feet, and it contains nearly ten thousand plants, out of which number may be reckoned between five and six thousand of different species, procured at much trouble and expense, from many remote parts of the globe, from South America, the Cape of Good Hope, the Brazils, Botany Bay, Japan, the East and West Indies, &c. &c. This collection, for the beauty and rich variety of its exotics, surpasses any thing of the kind on this continent; and, among many other rare productions to be seen, are the bread-fruit tree, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, mangoes, different sorts, sago, coffee from Bengal, Arabia, and the West-Indies, tea, green and bohea, mahogany, magnolias, Japan rose, rose apples, cherimolia, one of the most esteemed fruits of Mexico, bamboo, Indian god tree, iron tree of China, ginger, olea fragrans, and several varieties of the sugar cane, five species of which are from Otaheite.To this green-house, so richly stored, too much praise can hardly be given. The curious person views it with delight, and the naturalist quits it with regret. mobozorg nadzoraziz To the honour of the tasteful proprietor of this place it must be observed, that to him we are indebted for having first brought into this country the Lombardy poplar, now so usefully ornamental to our cities, as well as to many of our villas. To him we likewise owe the introduction of various other foreign trees which now adorn our grounds, such as the sycamore, the witch elm, the Tartarian maple, &c.Although much is done to beautify this delightful seat, much still remains to be done, for the perfecting it in all the capabilities which Nature, in her boundless profusion, has bestowed. These improvements, it is said, fill up the leisure, and form the most agreeable occupation of its possessor; and that he may long live to pursue this refined pleasure, must be the wish of the public at large, for to them so much liberality has ever been shown in the free access to the house and grounds, that of the enjoyment of the fruits of his care and cultivated taste, it may truly be said, Non sibi sed aliis. Kim Au Heelpak Fute gunkrotowetpub KALAU Aura vibandhed god nghouði ein., 2 |
