VII 



ROADS AND PATHS 



FOR what is the good of a park that presents the 

 same recurring picture from a few points of 

 view, a park where I am never led, as by an 

 invisible hand, to the most beautiful spots, seeing 

 and comprehending the picture in its entirety and 

 at my ease? This is the purpose of roads and paths, 

 and while they should not be unnecessarily multi- 

 plied, too many are better than too few. Roads and 

 paths are the dumb conductors of the visitor and 

 should serve in themselves to guide him easily to- 

 wards every spot which could afford enjoyment. 

 Roads and paths, therefore, should not be too con- 

 spicuous but should be carefully laid out and concealed 

 by plantations. I mean too conspicuous in the 

 English sense where a property of a thousand acres 

 has only one or two main roads or paths, yet the 

 opposite system of our imitation English gardens, 

 where often two or three adjacent paths all show the 

 same points of view and lead to the same spot, is 

 also very objectionable, 



"It follows from what I have said elsewhere that 

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