natural terrace, reaching to the foot of the rock, the
face of which was not merely perpendicular, but projecting so much
that the top more than plumbed the edge of the basin. Along the
sky-line there was drawn a fence or veil of briars, honeysuckles, and
other impervious bushes, interspersed with myrtles, wild roses, and
foxgloves, so thickly woven together, that all external view of this
_beau ideal_ of a bath was rendered impossible. The only access was by
a narrow, steep, and winding path; and at the upper end was placed a
high, locked gate, the key of which was in the exclusive charge of the
ladies.

As I rode on, ignorant as yet of these and many other rich and rare
beauties of this singular spot, and only admiring the general aspect
of things, I began, for the first time, to reflect on the extreme
awkwardness of my situation.

Here was I merely the bearer of an introductory letter to a lady,
herself a guest in the house; and although it might have been
allowable enough to have called to deliver such an introduction, had
business or accident brought me to the neighbourhood, now it seemed
rather a strong measure to travel fifty or sixty miles across a wild
and disturbed country merely to pay a morning call. The inference that
my intention was to make a visit of some duration, became inevitable;
and I pictured to myself the string of explanations I had to give,
which might, after all, not be followed by any invitation to remain.
After long cogitations, I resolved to steal up to the house, if
possible, unperceived; have my horse turned over to the groom, and my
portmanteau stowed out of sight, and then to walk boldly up to the
door, with a visiting-card in one hand, and my credentials in the
other, to be delivered to the servant for the lady to whom the letter
was addressed. I next proposed to stroll about the woods, to give
time for any good things said of the bearer to work their way,
hoping, by this rather clumsy manoeuvre, that by the time I returned
to the house its inmates might be prepared to receive the stranger;
and then, if their invitation to remain should happen not to be very
pressing, I might pretend to be collecting specimens for my geological
friends, and so make my escape; though, to own the truth, nothing was
farther from my thoughts than geology.

In spite of these ingenious plans, I felt myself rather absurdly
situated, and half wished I had not engaged at all in such an
unpromising adventure