much art may be difplay'd. A common centre of walks, termed a star, from whence are seen a number of remarkable objects, appears too artificial, and confequently too ftiff and formal, to be agreeable: the crowding withal fo many objects together, leffens the pleasure that would be felt in a flower fucceffion. Abandoning therefore the star, let us try to substitute fome form more natural, that will lay open all the remarkable objects in the neighbourhood. This may be done by various openings in the wood contrived to catch furrounding objects, which, in walking, bring fucceffively under the eye these objects as by accident; fometimes a fingle object, fometimes a plurality in a line, and fometimes a rapid fucceffion of them. In this form, the mind at intervals is roused and cheared by agreeable objects; and the scene is greatly heightened by the furprise it occafions when we stumble, as it were, upon objects of which we had no expecta

tion.

Attending to the influence of contrast upon the mind of man, explained in the eighth chapter, we discover why the lowness of the ceiling increases in appearance the fize of a large room, and why a long room appears still longer by being very narrow, as is remarkable in a gallery: by the fame means, an object terminating a narrow opening in a wood, appears at a double distance. This fuggefts another rule for diftributing trees in fome quarter near the dwelling-house; which Ee 2

is,

is, to place a number of thickets one behind another, with an opening in each directing the eye to the most distant through all the intermediate thickets, which, by making these thickets appear more diftant from each other than they are in reality, will enlarge in appearance the fize of the whole field. To give this plan its utmost effect, the thickets ought to be at a confiderable distance from each other and in order that each may be feen diftinatly, the opening nearest the eye ought to be wider than the fecond, the fecond wider than the third, and fo on to the end *.

By a judicious diftribution of trees, various beauties may be produced, far exceeding what have been mentioned; which will appear as follows. A landscape fo rich as to ingrofs the whole attention, and fo limited as fweetly to be comprehended under a fingle view, has a much finer effect than the moft extenfive landfcape that re quires a wandering of the eye through fucceffive fcenes. This confideration fuggefts a capital rule in laying out a field; which is, never at any one ftation to admit a larger profpect than can eafily be taken in at once. A field fo happily fitua

*An object will appear more diftant than it really is, if we fe parate it from the eye by lines of different coloured evergreens. Suppofe the lines to be of holly and laurel, and the holly, which is of the deepeft colour, next the eye: the degradation of colour in the laurel, makes it appear at a great diftance from the holly, and confequently removes the object, in appearance, to a greater diftance than it really is.

ted

ted as to command a great extent of profpect, is a delightful fubject for applying this rule: let the profpect be split into proper parts by means of trees; ftudying at the fame time to introduce all the variety poffible. A plan of this kind executed with tafte will produce charming effects: the beautiful profpects are multiplied: each of them is much more agreeable, than the entire prospect was originally: and, to crown the whole, the fcenery is greatly diverfified.

As gardening is not an inventive art, but an imitation of nature, or rather nature itself ornamented; it follows neceffarily, that every thing unnatural ought to be rejected with disdain. Statues of wild beafts vomiting water, a common ornament in gardens, prevails in those of Verfailles. Is this ornament in a good tafte? A jet d'eau, being purely artificial, may, without difguft, be tortured into a thousand shapes: but a representation of what really exifts in nature, admits not any unnatural circumftance. Thefe ftatues therefore of Verfailles must be condemned; and yet fo infenfible has the artist been to just imitation, as to have difplay'd his vicious tafte without the least colour or difguife: a lifelefs ftatue of an animal pouring out water, may be endured without much difguft; but here the lions and wolves are put in violent action, each has feized its prey, a deer or a lamb, in act to devour; and yet, instead of extended claws and open mouth, the whole, as by a hocus-pocus trick,

is converted into a different fcene; the lion, for. getting his prey, pours out water plentifully; and the deer, forgetting its danger, performs the fame operation; a representation not less abfurd than that in the opera, where Alexander the Great, after mounting the wall of a town be fieged, turns his back to the enemy, and entertains his army with a fong.

In gardening, every lively exhibition of what is beautiful in nature has a fine effect: on the other hand, diftant and faint imitations are difpleafing to every one of tafte. The cutting evergreens in the shape of animals, is a very ancient practice; as appears from the epiftles of Pliny, who feems to be a great admirer of this puerile conceit. The propensity to imitation gave birth to this practice; and has supported it wonderfully long, confidering how faint and infipid the imitation is, But the vulgar, great and small, devoid of taste, are entertained with the oddness and fingularity of a refemblance, however diftant, between a tree and an animal. An attempt in the gardens of Verfailles, to imitate a grove of trees by a group of jets d'eau, appears, for the fame reason, not lefs ridiculous.

In laying out a garden, every thing trivial or whimfical ought to be avoided. Is a labyrinth then to be justified? It is a mere conceit, like that of compofing verfes in the fhape of an axe or an egg the walks and hedges may be agreeable; but in the form of a labyrinth, they ferve to no

end

end but to puzzle: a riddle is a conceit not fo mean; because the solution is a proof of fagacity, which affords no aid in tracing a labyrinth.

The gardens of Verfailles, executed with infinite expence by the best artifts that could be found, are a lafting monument of a taste the most depraved: the faults above mentioned, instead of being avoided, are chosen as beauties, and multiplied without end. Nature, it would feem, was deemed too vulgar to be imitated in the works of a magnificent monarch; and for that reafon preference was given to things unnatural, which probably were mistaken for fupernatural, I have often amufed myself with a fanciful refemblance between these gardens and the Arabian tales: each of them is a performance intended for the amusement of a great king: in the fixteen gardens of Versailles there is no unity of defign, more than in the thousand and one Arabian tales: and, laftly, they are equally unnatural; groves of jets d'eau, ftatues of animals converfing in the manner of Æfop, water iffuing out of the mouths. of wild beafts, give an impreffion of fairy-land and witchcraft, not less than diamond-palaces, invifible rings, fpells and incantations.

A straight road is the moft agreeable, because it fhortens the journey. But in an embellished field, a straight walk has an air of ftiffness and confinement and at any rate is lefs agreeable than a winding or waving walk; for in furveying the beauties of an ornamented field, we love to