oS 



THE GARPEXfik'S MOXTHIY 



[ Fthniin-v, 



but here they roinnu'iicp four t)r live ft'et from 

 tho s;roniid to swoU, !\nd in these the lower parts 

 of the trunks were double the size, in many cases, 

 of the upjx'r portion. As alreiidy noted, the trees 

 in Eni:land do not irrow near so tall as ours, but 

 tlicy s])read more ; and I should Jud^^e these Jiin- 

 <lens were not niore than from forty to sixty feet 

 hii:li. T measured an oak here which proved IH 

 feet round, and yet could not be more that 50 feet 

 hiirh. There is nothinsr more interesting about 

 these old places than their associations with 

 remarkable events in history. It was here that 

 Elizabeth, afterward (^>ueen of Knsrland, was 

 kept a sort of prisoner durinu: her sister Mary's 

 reign. She wa.s very fond of gardening, and 

 during her residence here she gave her taste free 

 scope. There is a walk lined with Lindens which 

 have been sheared and clipi>ed into arches and 

 alcoves, jilanted by her direction, and which is 

 .still called Qut en p:iizabeth's Walk. But their 

 comparatively youthful age seems to me to indi- 

 date that they may have been set out in much 

 later times. A tree which she did plant, an oak, 

 is guarded with zealous care by a fence around it, 

 though but an old stump now. Prince Albert 

 set out two near it, one for himself and one for 

 the (^)ueen, which are thriving, and also are pro- 

 protected by a fence. There is also on the 

 ground a queer old maze, in which it is said the 

 Princess Elizabeth loved to wander. This is of 

 Yew, while the one I saw at Hampton Court was 

 •of Beech. I should think after one journey 

 through such a place the novelty would wear otf. 

 At least, on this occasion I was willing to sit on 

 the grass and admire the " gowans fine,"' while 

 mj- companion amused herself in the tangled 

 paths ; and I cheerfully submitted to her decision 

 that I only remained outside for fear of being 

 lost. and had not as much courage as slu^ had. It 

 is said that in these grounds, while in her favo- 

 rite garden walk, Elizabeth received the news of 

 her sister's death, by which she walked out one 

 step from this pretty prison to the heavenly 

 throne. 



It is one of the pleasant characteristics of the 

 li^nglish aristocracy, that they take pleasure in 

 •sharing with the rest of the world the treasures 

 ■of history and of art that they may possess, and 

 it is rarely that a respectable person fails to gain 

 admiitance to any part of the establishment 

 when the family is not at home. On the present 

 • occasion the only requirement was that we should 

 leave our cards for the inspection of the Marquis, 

 •and enter our names in a book in the grand hall. 



As everywhere we went, so here we found traces 

 of America; for in the att»'ndant"s hand were 

 cards from one of our I'hiladelphia neighbors, 

 and of Mr. Munn — we sup|)ose(l of the IScientiJic 

 American — New York. Everything that may 

 remind one of the past is religiously preserved, 

 even to (^ueen Elizabeth's silk ><tockings — tlie 

 first pair ever known in England — aiul her old 

 garden hat. If I mistake not, the Marquisate 

 was created early in the seventeenth century ; 

 and a.s the portraits of the gay lords*and fair 

 ladies hang everywhere on the castle walls, and 

 there are mementoes of iinunneral)le «lescrip- 

 tions in every direction of all these distinguisht d 

 people for these past three hundred years, the 

 only regret one feels at seeing them is that he 

 cannot have a few weeks instead of a few hours 

 to study them. 



Hattiekl House makes no pretension to any 

 superb gardening. There are many places far 

 superior in these respects ; but it is an average 

 of the general run of these comfortable old 

 homes, and so we .selected it. 



It was my purpose to take about three or so 

 of these old mansions as a type of the grounds 

 of the older section of England's nobility ; but 

 what can I do in a little magazine which comes 

 out but once a month, and Methuselah's expe- 

 rience not likely to l^e repeated in any case. I 

 cannot close the chapter on this branch without a 

 brief sketch of the home of theJenkinsons — ananie 

 historical in connection with English politics, and 

 ; of which family the late Earl of Liverpool was so 

 [ widely known ; Buxted Park, in Sussex, and now 

 1 in the possession of Colonel and Lady Catharine 

 j Harcourt — liady Catharine being the daughter of 

 the late Earl. 



I have already noted how far away from school 



I was in my boyhood days, and how many difti- 



culties were in the way of obtaining an education 



in the higher branches of intelligence. I often 



; look back gratefully to the friends who kindly 



' aided me under these difficult circumstances, 



and there are few whom, in after life, I felt so 



much indebted to for their wai'm and substantial 



encouragement, as to Colonel and Lady Har- 



I court. The last letter of good wishes, when a 



I boy I resolved to leave my native land, was 



from them, and it was naturally grateful to find, on 



my landing in England now, a letter awaiting me, 



inviting me to spend a few days at Buxted Park. 



! Lady C. had for some time been an invalid, and 



even intimate friends had rareh' been admitted 



to her presence of late, and I thus felt it the 



