102 Frederick Law Olmsted 



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an English park. What artist so noble, has often been my 

 thought, as he who, with far-reaching conception of beauty 

 and designing power, sketches the outline, writes the colours, 

 and directs the shadows of a picture so great that Nature 

 shall be employed upon it for generations, before the work 

 he has arranged for her shall realize his intentions. ^ 



. . . We came to the great castellated edifice that I have 

 before spoken of as the gateway to the park. Such we were 

 told it was, and were therefore surprised to find within only 

 a long, straight road, with but tolerable mowing lots alter- 

 nating by the side of it, with thick plantations of trees, no 

 way differing from the twenty-year old natural wood of my 

 own farm, except that hollies, laurels, and our common dog- 

 wood were planted regularly along the edge. 



We tramped on for several miles through this tame 

 scenery and most ungentlemanly farming, until it became 

 really tiresome. At length the wood fell back, and the road 

 was lined for some way with a double row of fine elms. Still 

 no deer. A little further, and we came to a cottage most 

 beautifully draped with ivy; passed through another gate. 

 Ah ! here is the real park at last. 



A gracefully, irregular, gently undulating surface of close- 

 cropped pasture land, reaching way off inimitably; dark 

 green in colour; very old, but not very large trees scattered 

 singly and in groups — so far apart as to throw long unbroken 

 shadows across broad openings of light, and leave the view 

 in several directions unobstructed for a long distance. Herds 

 of fallow-deer, fawns, cattle, sheep and lambs quietly feeding 

 near us, and moving slowly in masses at a distance; a warm 

 atmosphere, descending sun, and sublime shadows from 

 fleecy clouds transiently darkening in succession, sunny 

 surface, cool woodside, flocks and herds, and foliage. 



' Mr.. Olmsted was fond of quoting this passage in his later professional 

 writing. 



