Thegardenlikealadyfairwascut，Thatlayasifsheslumberedindelight，Andtotheopenskieshereyesdidshut。
TheazurefieldsofHeavenwere’sembledrightInalargeround，setwiththeflowersoflight。
Theflowersdeluce，andtheroundsparksofdew。
ThathungupontheirazureleavesdidshewLiketwinklingstarsthatsparkleintheeveningblue。
GilesFletcher。
FROMhiscradletohisgraveagaleofprosperityboremyfriendEllisonalong。NordoIusethewordprosperityinitsmereworldlysense。Imeanitassynonymouswithhappiness。ThepersonofwhomI
speakseemedbornforthepurposeofforeshadowingthedoctrinesofTurgot，Price，Priestley，andCondorcetofexemplifyingbyindividualinstancewhathasbeendeemedthechimeraoftheperfectionists。InthebriefexistenceofEllisonIfancythatIhaveseenrefutedthedogma，thatinman’sverynatureliessomehiddenprinciple，theantagonistofbliss。Ananxiousexaminationofhiscareerhasgivenmetounderstandthatingeneral，fromtheviolationofafewsimplelawsofhumanityarisesthewretchednessofmankindthatasaspecieswehaveinourpossessiontheasyetunwroughtelementsofcontentandthat，evennow，inthepresentdarknessandmadnessofallthoughtonthegreatquestionofthesocialcondition，itisnotimpossiblethatman，theindividual，undercertainunusualandhighlyfortuitousconditions，maybehappy。
Withopinionssuchasthesemyyoungfriend，too，wasfullyimbued，andthusitisworthyofobservationthattheuninterruptedenjoymentwhichdistinguishedhislifewas，ingreatmeasure，theresultofpreconcert。Itisindeedevidentthatwithlessoftheinstinctivephilosophywhich，nowandthen，standssowellinthesteadofexperience，Mr。Ellisonwouldhavefoundhimselfprecipitated，bytheveryextraordinarysuccessofhislife，intothecommonvortexofunhappinesswhichyawnsforthoseofpre-eminentendowments。Butitisbynomeansmyobjecttopenanessayonhappiness。Theideasofmyfriendmaybesummedupinafewwords。Headmittedbutfourelementaryprinciples，ormorestrictly，conditionsofbliss。Thatwhichheconsideredchiefwasstrangetosay！thesimpleandpurelyphysicaloneoffreeexerciseintheopenair。“Thehealth。”hesaid，“attainablebyothermeansisscarcelyworththename。”Heinstancedtheecstasiesofthefox-hunter，andpointedtothetillersoftheearth，theonlypeoplewho，asaclass，canbefairlyconsideredhappierthanothers。Hissecondconditionwastheloveofwoman。Histhird，andmostdifficultofrealization，wasthecontemptofambition。Hisfourthwasanobjectofunceasingpursuit；andheheldthat，otherthingsbeingequal，theextentofattainablehappinesswasinproportiontothespiritualityofthisobject。
Ellisonwasremarkableinthecontinuousprofusionofgoodgiftslavisheduponhimbyfortune。Inpersonalgraceandbeautyheexceededallmen。Hisintellectwasofthatordertowhichtheacquisitionofknowledgeislessalaborthananintuitionandanecessity。Hisfamilywasoneofthemostillustriousoftheempire。
Hisbridewastheloveliestandmostdevotedofwomen。Hispossessionshadbeenalwaysample；butontheattainmentofhismajority，itwasdiscoveredthatoneofthoseextraordinaryfreaksoffatehadbeenplayedinhisbehalfwhichstartlethewholesocialworldamidwhichtheyoccur，andseldomfailradicallytoalterthemoralconstitutionofthosewhoaretheirobjects。
ItappearsthataboutahundredyearsbeforeMr。Ellison’scomingofage，therehaddied，inaremoteprovince，oneMr。SeabrightEllison。
Thisgentlemanhadamassedaprincelyfortune，and，havingnoimmediateconnections，conceivedthewhimofsufferinghiswealthtoaccumulateforacenturyafterhisdecease。Minutelyandsagaciouslydirectingthevariousmodesofinvestment，hebequeathedtheaggregateamounttothenearestofblood，bearingthenameofEllison，whoshouldbealiveattheendofthehundredyears。Manyattemptshadbeenmadetosetasidethissingularbequest；theirexpostfactocharacterrenderedthemabortive；buttheattentionofajealousgovernmentwasaroused，andalegislativeactfinallyobtained，forbiddingallsimilaraccumulations。Thisact，however，didnotpreventyoungEllisonfromenteringintopossession，onhistwenty-firstbirthday，astheheirofhisancestorSeabright，ofafortuneoffourhundredandfiftymillionsofdollars。{*1}
Whenithadbecomeknownthatsuchwastheenormouswealthinherited，therewere，ofcourse，manyspeculationsastothemodeofitsdisposal。Themagnitudeandtheimmediateavailabilityofthesumbewilderedallwhothoughtonthetopic。Thepossessorofanyappreciableamountofmoneymighthavebeenimaginedtoperformanyoneofathousandthings。Withrichesmerelysurpassingthoseofanycitizen，itwouldhavebeeneasytosupposehimengagingtosupremeexcessinthefashionableextravagancesofhistimeorbusyinghimselfwithpoliticalintrigueoraimingatministerialpower
orpurchasingincreaseofnobilityorcollectinglargemuseumsofvirtuorplayingthemunificentpatronofletters，ofscience，ofartorendowing，andbestowinghisnameuponextensiveinstitutionsofcharity。Butfortheinconceivablewealthintheactualpossessionoftheheir，theseobjectsandallordinaryobjectswerefelttoaffordtoolimitedafield。Recoursewashadtofigures，andthesebutsufficedtoconfound。Itwasseenthat，evenatthreepercent。，theannualincomeoftheinheritanceamountedtonolessthanthirteenmillionsandfivehundredthousanddollars；whichwasonemillionandonehundredandtwenty-fivethousandpermonth；orthirty-sixthousandninehundredandeighty-sixperday；oronethousandfivehundredandforty-oneperhour；orsixandtwentydollarsforeveryminutethatflew。Thustheusualtrackofsuppositionwasthoroughlybrokenup。Menknewnotwhattoimagine。
ThereweresomewhoevenconceivedthatMr。Ellisonwoulddivesthimselfofatleastone-halfofhisfortune，asofutterlysuperfluousopulenceenrichingwholetroopsofhisrelativesbydivisionofhissuperabundance。Tothenearestofthesehedid，infact，abandontheveryunusualwealthwhichwashisownbeforetheinheritance。
Iwasnotsurprised，however，toperceivethathehadlongmadeuphismindonapointwhichhadoccasionedsomuchdiscussiontohisfriends。NorwasIgreatlyastonishedatthenatureofhisdecision。
Inregardtoindividualcharitieshehadsatisfiedhisconscience。Inthepossibilityofanyimprovement，properlysocalled，beingeffectedbymanhimselfinthegeneralconditionofman，hehadIamsorrytoconfessitlittlefaith。Uponthewhole，whetherhappilyorunhappily，hewasthrownback，inverygreatmeasure，uponself。
Inthewidestandnoblestsensehewasapoet。Hecomprehended，moreover，thetruecharacter，theaugustaims，thesuprememajestyanddignityofthepoeticsentiment。Thefullest，ifnotthesolepropersatisfactionofthissentimentheinstinctivelyfelttolieinthecreationofnovelformsofbeauty。Somepeculiarities，eitherinhisearlyeducation，orinthenatureofhisintellect，hadtingedwithwhatistermedmaterialismallhisethicalspeculations；anditwasthisbias，perhaps，whichledhimtobelievethatthemostadvantageousatleast，ifnotthesolelegitimatefieldforthepoeticexercise，liesinthecreationofnovelmoodsofpurelyphysicalloveliness。Thusithappenedhebecameneithermusiciannorpoetifweusethislatterterminitsevery-dayacceptation。Oritmighthavebeenthatheneglectedtobecomeeither，merelyinpursuanceofhisideathatincontemptofambitionistobefoundoneoftheessentialprinciplesofhappinessonearth。Isitnotindeed，possiblethat，whileahighorderofgeniusisnecessarilyambitious，thehighestisabovethatwhichistermedambition？AndmayitnotthushappenthatmanyfargreaterthanMiltonhavecontentedlyremained“muteandinglorious？”Ibelievethattheworldhasneverseenandthat，unlessthroughsomeseriesofaccidentsgoadingthenoblestorderofmindintodistastefulexertion，theworldwillneverseethatfullextentoftriumphantexecution，inthericherdomainsofart，ofwhichthehumannatureisabsolutelycapable。
Ellisonbecameneithermusiciannorpoet；althoughnomanlivedmoreprofoundlyenamoredofmusicandpoetry。Underothercircumstancesthanthosewhichinvestedhim，itisnotimpossiblethathewouldhavebecomeapainter。Sculpture，althoughinitsnaturerigorouslypoeticalwastoolimitedinitsextentandconsequences，tohaveoccupied，atanytime，muchofhisattention。AndIhavenowmentionedalltheprovincesinwhichthecommonunderstandingofthepoeticsentimenthasdeclareditcapableofexpatiating。ButEllisonmaintainedthattherichest，thetruest，andmostnatural，ifnotaltogetherthemostextensiveprovince，hadbeenunaccountablyneglected。Nodefinitionhadspokenofthelandscape-gardenerasofthepoet；yetitseemedtomyfriendthatthecreationofthelandscape-gardenofferedtotheproperMusethemostmagnificentofopportunities。Here，indeed，wasthefairestfieldforthedisplayofimaginationintheendlesscombiningofformsofnovelbeauty；theelementstoenterintocombinationbeing，byavastsuperiority，themostgloriouswhichtheearthcouldafford。Inthemultiformandmulticoloroftheflowersandthetrees，herecognisedthemostdirectandenergeticeffortsofNatureatphysicalloveliness。Andinthedirectionorconcentrationofthiseffortor，moreproperly，initsadaptationtotheeyeswhichweretobeholditonearthheperceivedthatheshouldbeemployingthebestmeanslaboringtothegreatestadvantageinthefulfilment，notonlyofhisowndestinyaspoet，butoftheaugustpurposesforwhichtheDeityhadimplantedthepoeticsentimentinman。
“Itsadaptationtotheeyeswhichweretobeholditonearth。”Inhisexplanationofthisphraseology，Mr。Ellisondidmuchtowardsolvingwhathasalwaysseemedtomeanenigma：Imeanthefactwhichnonebuttheignorantdisputethatnosuchcombinationofsceneryexistsinnatureasthepainterofgeniusmayproduce。NosuchparadisesaretobefoundinrealityashaveglowedonthecanvasofClaude。Inthemostenchantingofnaturallandscapes，therewillalwaysbefoundadefectoranexcessmanyexcessesanddefects。
Whilethecomponentpartsmaydefy，individually，thehighestskilloftheartist，thearrangementofthesepartswillalwaysbesusceptibleofimprovement。Inshort，nopositioncanbeattainedonthewidesurfaceofthenaturalearth，fromwhichanartisticaleye，lookingsteadily，willnotfindmatterofoffenceinwhatistermedthe“composition“ofthelandscape。Andyethowunintelligibleisthis！Inallothermatterswearejustlyinstructedtoregardnatureassupreme。Withherdetailsweshrinkfromcompetition。Whoshallpresumetoimitatethecolorsofthetulip，ortoimprovetheproportionsofthelilyofthevalley？Thecriticismwhichsays，ofsculptureorportraiture，thatherenatureistobeexaltedoridealizedratherthanimitated，isinerror。Nopictorialorsculpturalcombinationsofpointsofhumanlivelinessdomorethanapproachthelivingandbreathingbeauty。Inlandscapealoneistheprincipleofthecritictrue；and，havingfeltitstruthhere，itisbuttheheadlongspiritofgeneralizationwhichhasledhimtopronounceittruethroughoutallthedomainsofart。Having，Isay，feltitstruthhere；forthefeelingisnoaffectationorchimera。
Themathematicsaffordnomoreabsolutedemonstrationsthanthesentimentsofhisartyieldstheartist。Henotonlybelieves，butpositivelyknows，thatsuchandsuchapparentlyarbitraryarrangementsofmatterconstituteandaloneconstitutethetruebeauty。Hisreasons，however，havenotyetbeenmaturedintoexpression。Itremainsforamoreprofoundanalysisthantheworldhasyetseen，fullytoinvestigateandexpressthem。Neverthelessheisconfirmedinhisinstinctiveopinionsbythevoiceofallhisbrethren。Leta“composition“bedefective；letanemendationbewroughtinitsmerearrangementofform；letthisemendationbesubmittedtoeveryartistintheworld；byeachwillitsnecessitybeadmitted。Andevenfarmorethanthis：inremedyofthedefectivecomposition，eachinsulatedmemberofthefraternitywouldhavesuggestedtheidenticalemendation。
Irepeatthatinlandscapearrangementsaloneisthephysicalnaturesusceptibleofexaltation，andthat，therefore，hersusceptibilityofimprovementatthisonepoint，wasamysteryIhadbeenunabletosolve。Myownthoughtsonthesubjecthadrestedintheideathattheprimitiveintentionofnaturewouldhavesoarrangedtheearth’ssurfaceastohavefulfilledatallpointsman’ssenseofperfectioninthebeautiful，thesublime，orthepicturesque；butthatthisprimitiveintentionhadbeenfrustratedbytheknowngeologicaldisturbancesdisturbancesofformandcolorgrouping，inthecorrectionorallayingofwhichliesthesoulofart。Theforceofthisideawasmuchweakened，however，bythenecessitywhichitinvolvedofconsideringthedisturbancesabnormalandunadaptedtoanypurpose。ItwasEllisonwhosuggestedthattheywereprognosticofdeath。Hethusexplained：Admittheearthlyimmortalityofmantohavebeenthefirstintention。Wehavethentheprimitivearrangementoftheearth’ssurfaceadaptedtohisblissfulestate，asnotexistentbutdesigned。Thedisturbanceswerethepreparationsforhissubsequentlyconceiveddeathfulcondition。