huge sea envelops him all around, and wraps him close to its bosom,
in the act, as it were, of swallowing him up in a moment: still he
is separated from all the circumjacent immensity of space only by
one small part, or insignificant portion of that immensity.

That portion of this space, which I now see surrounding me, is a
most delightful selection from the whole of beautiful nature. Here
is the Thames full of large and small ships and boats, dispersed
here and there, which are either sailing on with us, or lying at
anchor; and there the hills on either side, clad with so soft and
mild a green, as I have nowhere else ever seen equalled. The
charming banks of the Elbe, which I so lately quitted, are as much
surpassed by these shores as autumn is by spring! I see everywhere
nothing but fertile and cultivated lands; and those living hedges
which in England more than in any other country, form the boundaries
of the green cornfields, and give to the whole of the distant
country the appearance of a large and majestic garden. The neat
villages and small towns with sundry intermediate country seats,
suggest ideas of prosperity and opulence which is not possible to
describe.

The prospect towards Gravesend is particularly beautiful. It is a
clever little town, built on the side of a hill; about which there
lie hill and dale and meadows, and arable land, intermixed with
pleasure grounds and country seats; all diversified in the most
agreeable manner. On one of the highest of these hills near
Gravesend stands a windmill, which is a very good object, as you see
it at some distance, as well as part of the country around it, on
the windings of the Thames. But as few human pleasures are ever
complete and perfect, we too, amidst the pleasing contemplation of