young's travels, in i-rance.
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Reach Ermenonviile, through another part of the Prince of Conde's fared,,whichjoins the ornamented grounds of the Marquis Girardon. This place, after the refi-dence and death of the perfecuted but immortal Roufieau, whofe tomb every oneknows is here, became fo famous as to be reforted to very generally. It has beendefcribed, and plates publdhed of the chief views ; to enter into a particular defcrip-tion would therefore be tirefome; I fhall only make one or two observations, which Ido not recoiled; have been touched on by others. It confids of three diftinfl waterfcenes ; or of two lakes and a river. We were firfb (hewn that which is fo famous forthe final 1 ifle of poplars, in which repofes all that was mortal of that extraordinaryand inimitable writer. This fcene is as well imagined, and as well executed as couldbe wifhed. The water is between forty and fifty acres ; hills rife from it on both (ides,and it is Sufficiently clofed in by tall wood at both ends, to render it fequedered. Theremains of departed genius damp a melancholy idea, from which decoration woulddepart too much, and accordingly there is little. We viewed the fcene in a (till even-ing. The declining fun threw a lengthened lhade on the lake, and filence feemed torepofe on its unruffled bofom; as Some poet fays, I forget who. The worthies to whomthe temple of philofophers is dedicated, and whofe names are marked on the columns,are Newton, Lucent. —Defcartes, Nil in rebus iiume. —Voltaire , Ridiculum. —Roufieau,Naturam .—And on another unfinilhed column, Outs hoc perfuiet ? The other lake islarger; it nearly fills the bottom of the vale, around which are fome rough, rocky,wild, and barren fand hills; either broken or Spread with heath; in fome places wood-ed, and in others Scattered thinly with junipers. The character of the fcene is that ofwild and undecorated nature, in which the hand of art was meant to be concealedas much as was confident with eafe of accefs. The lad fcene is that of a river, whichis made to wind through a lawn, receding from the houfe, and broken by wood ; theground is not fortunate; it is too dead a flat, and no where viewed to much advantage.
From Ermenonviile we went, the morning after, to Brafleufe, the feat of Madamedu Pont, filler of the Duchefs of Liancourt. What was my furprife at finding thisVifcountels a great farmer! A French lady, young enough to enjoy all the pleafuresof Paris , living in the country, and minding her farm, was an unlooked-for ipe&acle.She has probably more lucerne than any other perfon in Europe —two hundred andfifty arpents. She gave me, in a mod unaffected and agreeable manner, intelligenceabout her lucerne and daily but of that more elfewhere. Returned to Liancourtby Pont, where there is a handfome bridge of three arches, the condruflion uncommon,each pier confiding of four pillars, with a towing-path under one of the arches for the.barge-horfes, the river being navigable.
Amongd the morning atnufements I partook at Liancourt was la chajfe. In deer(hooting, the fportfmen place themfelves at didances around a wood, then beat it, andfcldorn more than one in a company gets a (hot; it is more tedious than is eafily con-ceived ; like angling, incefiant expectation, and perpetual difappointment. Partridgeand hare (hooting are almod as different from that of England. We took this diverfionin the fine vale of Catnoir, five or fix miles from Liancourt \ arranging ourfelves in afile at about thirty yards from perfon to perfon, and each with a iervant and a loadedgun, ready to prefent when his mader fires p thus we marched acrols and acrofs thevale, treading up the game. Four or five brace of hares,, and twenty brace of par--tnd; ,:s were the fpoils of the day. I like this mode of (hooting but little betterthan wr iting for deer. The bed circumltance to me of exercife in company (it was-not fo one.) is the fedivity of the dinner at the clofe of the day. To enjoy this,it mud not be pufhed to great fatigue. Good fpirits, after violent exercife, ar e
ii always