Colinton.1 VIEW FROM THE PENTLANDS. 325
opposite coast of Fife.? But the distant views of
Edinburgh are all splendid alike.
The northern slopes of these mountains command
a clear view of one of the grandest and most
varied landscapes in Scotland.
? The ndiiiberless villas in the vicinity of Edinof
hills and elevated situations, useful as well
as ornamental-protecting, not injuring, cultivation.
. . . The expanse of the Forth, which
forms the northern boundary, adds highly to
the natural beauty of the scene; and the capital,
situated upon an eminence, adjoining an exten-
MAP OF THE ENYIWVNS OF EDINBURGH.
burgh and gentlemen?s seats all over the country
are seen, beautiful and distinct, each amidst its own
plantations,? says a writer so far back as 1792, since
which date great improvements have taken place.
?I These add still more to the embellishment of the
scene from the manner in which they are disposed ;
not in extended and thick plantations, which turn
a country into a forest, and throw a gloom upon
the prospect, but in clear and diversified lines, in
clunips and hedgerows, or waving on the brows
sive plain, rises proudly to the view and gives
a dignity to the whole. Descending from the
hills to the low country, the surface which had
the appearance of a uniform plain undergoes a
change remarkable to the eye. The fields are
laid out in various directions according to the
nature of the ground, which is unequal, irregular,
and inclined to every point of the compass. The
most part, however, lies upon a gentle slope, either
to the north or to the south, in banks which are
