Nor groves, nor plains, which further off do stand,
Like landscapes portray'd by some happy hand:
But a swift view, which most delightful shows,
And doth them all, and all at once, disclose."[4]
[4] These lines are by Robert Codrington, respecting whom a reference may be made to Wood's Athenæ, iii. 699. Bliss's ed.
Such was the entire command of the country which this tree enjoyed, that it is said that
"Only Harrow on the Hill plays Rex,
And will have none more high in Middlesex."
"Essex Broad Oak" [where did that stand?] from which more than twenty miles could be seen, is poetically declared to have been "but a twig" in comparison with his relative at Hampstead; to find whose equal it is stated that
"You must as far as unto Bordeaux go."