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Untitled Article
any harshness , stirs there one breath of ill-will to any human being ? Is not all your soul steeped in benevolence ? is there one tinge of reflection which is not of love to all God ' s creatures ?
No , no , all are good , all are beautiful ; you are what you would have all things , a totality of peace ; you are a Christian , then ; you are adoring Heaven ! Keep the instructions which these contemplations give you in your heart ; store them there , and let them guide your practice when you mingle with the world .
Twenty times have you been drawn towards the many embowered paths which intersect the body of the forest ; each arched over and diminishing to a point of light , or completely closed in by the meeting branches ; and you feel in anticipation the serene hush of the retreats to which they invite you ; the repose from
thetremour , the overcharged and overbubbling fountains of joyous and rapturous excitement . You long to enter , and throw yourself at length on the conchy moss or fern , and quell the passionate sense into a tranquillity of satisfaction and retrospective thought . You have witnessed a beautiful drama , well got up and well performed , perhaps ? one that has called up a succession of intense interests and enchaining sympathies ? and you have gone home quietly , and through half the night coursed over each thought , emotion , and incident with calmer relish , thus fixing each more accurately and firmly on your mind's tablet ? Just such a gratifying change and succession of pleasures are yours in gazing on these birches from the avenue , and 1 hen enwrapping yourself and thoughts in one of these bowery mantles . So dash in at once , and think the pictures over . Come , let us see what sort of a pic-nic we can make out here . This is a delectable spot for enjoying it ; or take your selection from the hundreds of pretty
canopied recesses and verdant alcoves for a salle-d-manger . Or look there—there is a spot enclosed within a barrier of impenetrable gorse , if you like enclosures and barriers , which I do not ; here you may sit or lie extended , screened in by a glorious curtain of green and gold . Look , here is the entrance , somewhat intricate and winding , with just room for one at a time to pass in ; and space when you are there for a dozen or more , with swing-ingr elbow room , as vou assemble round the board ? no ,
round the smooth turf , which is covered with a snow-white sheet of damask . Stay , who are , or are to be , of the party , and what the viands ? These , sir , or madam , are matters to be well looked to ; a little bungling will do great mischief , and utter freedom from arrangement will be the nicest order in the world , if you have set out wisely . I have seen so many of these things spoiled by nicety and decorum , and so many unsuccessful from an absence of nicety and decorum , that my philanthropy prompts a little advice to s ylvan revellers . First , for the number of the party : if more than two , do not Stint at eight , ton , or a dozen , at least . A dozen will do , if you
Untitled Article
A Peep into &hcru ) ood Forest . 429
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1834, page 429, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2634/page/47/
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