I was not a little surprised to see the whole country here assume a new character, and one very uncommon in England,--that of my beloved Fatherland:--fir- and pine-wood intermingled with oaks and alders; and under foot our heather, and even our sand, in which this year's plantations were completely dry and withered. I could have given the King's gardeners some useful hints about planting in sand, for I convinced myself that they do not at all understand the treatment of that sort of soil.--A little frigate lay rocking on the lake, on whose banks were various little devices,--Chinese and Moorish houses executed with taste and not caricatured. The haste with which we drove along rendered it only possible to see things in a transient, and for the most part distant manner. I was, however, very glad to have gained at least a general idea of the whole. My venerable host climbed up on the seat of the carriage, and stood there, supported by his wife and me, to look about whether the King might not be somewhere in sight; nor was he perfectly tranquil till the gate of the sanctuary closed upon us. On our way back we saw the King's hunters--beautiful animals, as you may suppose,--and a peculiar breed of small elegant hounds, which are not to be met with out of England. We returned with good appetites for dinner, where I found several guests. Our hostess is a very agreeable woman, and as 'parkomane' as myself. All the noble trees in front of the house, between which glimpses of the distant landscape appear like separate pictures, were planted by herself forty years ago, and from that time to this only two have been removed. Every day convinces me more and more that the wide unbroken prospects which are here almost prohibited, destroy all illusion. With the exception of some few very old parks, you find hardly a house in England the view from which is not broken by scattered trees. Drawings deceive you, because the main object of the draftsman generally is to show the architecture and size of the building, and he consequently leaves out the trees. A most useful contrivance in this garden was a gigantic umbrella as large as a little tent, with an iron spike at the bottom to stick into the ground. You could thus establish yourself in any spot shaded from the sun. I gladly accepted an invitation from my friendly host for the following day, to meet the ladies of honour (_Hofdamen_[68]) of the Queen of Würtemburg. After dinner we walked again, to see a cottage in the low ground of the park. Enclosed on every side by hill and wood, it forms a charming contrast to the handsome villa on the height. Rode home (B---- and I) by brilliant star-light. _August 29th._