It is in the contemplation of these beauties
that fancy recalls the mythology of rocky woods, peopled with Dryads and
Fauns. Passing by a circuitous path to the other side of this Eden, by
sloping walks shaded with ilex, ancient oak, sycamore, cypress, and bay,
we have a view of the extent of the valley, terminating with the ruins of
_Fountains Abbey_, and flanked by rocks, wildly overgrown with shrubs;
and before us, seen more distinctly, are the statues of _Hercules_ and
_Antaeus_, and a _Dying Gladiator_--the Temple of Piety, in which are
bronze busts of Titus Vespasian and Nero, and a fine bas-relief of the
Grecian Daughter. In front of this temple the water assumes a variety of
fantastical forms, ornamented at different points by statues of Neptune,
Bacchus, Roman Wrestlers, Galatea, &c. The banqueting-house contains a
Venus de Medicis, and a painting of the Governor of Surat, on horseback,
in a Turkish habit; on the front of this building are spirited figures
of Envy, Hatred, and Malice. From the octagon tower, Mackershaw Lodge
and Wood are seen to great advantage; and from the Gothic temple, the
dilapidated abbey is an object of striking solemnity; whilst an opening
in the distance shows the venerable towers of Ripon Minster.
Wandering eastward, we arrive at the precincts of Fountains Abbey, which
gradually presents its monastic turrets midway in a dell, skirted by
hills crowned with trees, and varied by rocky slopes to the brook. This
abbey was founded in consequence of the disgust which certain monks of
the Benedictine order at St.
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