208 ELY ASTON CASTLE. 



r^TA' 



do, over rnniiy miles beyond; to he sure, similar liindscnpe, luit so extended as at 

 oiieo to imj)ross the visitor with the impossiliility of one individual owninfr the 

 whole. However, this is a defect more or less beloufriiifj to nil elevated situa- 

 tions, and one which so few ])ersons would allow, that we may he tliou;j;ht ea])- 

 tious even to have mentioned it. We therefore conclude our impressions of Farm 

 Lands by repeatinir that, taking the farm ami estate together, wo know of few 

 jtlaces more desirable. 



ELVASTON CASTLE. 



A LEAF FROM MY NOTE-BOOK. 



BY ROBERT BUIST, PHILADELPniA. 



No doubt, Mr. Editor, you have often been interrogated, by your friends who 

 were about making the "tour of Europe," with the question : "Which are the 

 finest parks, pleasure-grounds, and pinetums, to visit t" The reply of course 

 would be, Chatsworth, Woburn, Kew, &c. 



Elvaston C.\stle, to which I will call your attention, has been rarely viewed 

 till within the past few years ; it was a sealed book to all but its late owner and his 

 workmen. It has, however, recently become one of the "sights," and is ])ublic on 

 a specified day of the week. It is the seat of the Earl of Harrington, near Derby, 

 and is celebrated for its profusion of evergreen-trees and shrubs ; it is also known 

 for its symmetric and natural ])lanting. If there existed a hardy evergreen, it 

 was soon deposited within the domain of this enthusiastic modern planter. 



When I first visited it, in 1831, to see my youthful friend, Mr. Barrbw, who 

 then entered as gardener, I noted the place only for its long, level avenues of 

 lindens and chestnuts, that had stood the storms of the past century. Mr. Repton, 

 the famous landscajie-planter, was invited, by the grandfather of the late Earl, to 

 improve the grounds, but considered them so tame and level that nothing could 

 be done ; he planted about half a dozen Cedars of Lebanon, which remain, and 

 they were the only evergreen-trees of any character on the place, in 1830. So 

 meagre was the character of the place for trees, that the late ^Ir. Loudon, in his 

 full garden statistics p.liuut 1829-30, did not even notice it. 



The house is of the plainest exterior, with all the appendages of the establish- 

 ment in conjunction with it; and, strange to say, the parish church in juxta]iosi- 

 tion, but so retired and secluded, that no intrusion from thence could be eflccted. 



A plain sheet of water, and an ancient flower-garden, with hedges of yew and 

 laurel, formed the picturesque of this now noted spot in the above year. How 

 changed the scene ! The cool, collected, ingenious talent of the gardener, backed 

 by the Earl's wealth and will, with a determination to produce what he had so long 

 desired, has resulted, in so short a period, in eiTecfs which no other person has 

 yet achieved, even with nature in all its grandeur at his command. The whole 

 has been produced so quietly and privately, that comparatively few had realized 

 a solitary view, unless taken from the top of the church, as was done by your 

 friend, the late Mr. Downing, or on a very few special occasions granted by his 

 Lordship. The following feeldy shows what a few years have accomplished. The 

 whole feature of the place is decidedly Evergreen ; so that the grand avenue of 

 lindens gives way to rows of Deodar cedars, Douglas firs, and Austrian pines, till 

 you approach within half a mile of the mansion, where there is an inclosure by a 

 ha-ha, or sunk fence, within which you enter by massive, gilded, iron gates. On 

 the right, the column is covered with the golden ivy, and, on the left, the lod 

 embedded with mantles of the green. So striking a contrast could not be 



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