“3. The Mountain Lake. The Swamp.
“4. The Pastoral Brook. The Pond?
“5. The River.
“6. The Delta and the Deep Sea.”
This is the first and broadest sketch. Upon this ground plan he proceeds to lay out the themes he would treat, evidently having in mind both text and illustrations. Sometimes the note means one, sometimes the other. And the closeness with which the two are associated in his mind is a fine revelation of the manner in which his thought embraced both forms of production in a profound psychological unity.
1. The Rain Cloud and Spring
The birth of the spring; from perpetual snow on mountain peaks; dew; mist and cloud; storm cloud.
Rain Cloud dragging its veil on mountain-top. (See quotation from Ruskin in note-book). Poetic simile of mountain “Light of Asia” (227). Storm on mountain.
Hovering Mist and Cloud. Lifting and creeping in fantastic forms, above the lake. Wild Mountain Pass. Hermit’s Ravine. See reference. Ruskin in literary memorandum. Shelley’s “Cloud.”
Mountain Veterans. Gnarled spruces.