it, an admirable arrangement of trees, which would 

 have vastly improved the general effect. What re- 

 main of the old garden are its fine proportions, the 

 walls and gates at the west, and the beautiful stair- 

 cases and balustrades at the south and east. The 

 central fountain has been removed, and the only water 

 there now is in the basin at the enclosed end. The 

 arrangement of the flower-beds is made up of scroll- 

 work in box or gravel, but there are no fine large 

 forms, such as should surround this smaller work. 

 The result is that the paths are everywhere too ob- 

 vious, and the hardness of the design offends one at 

 every turn. 



This lack of harmony is made particularly manifest 

 by a very beautiful circular form given to the western 

 terrace. There is no approach to this from below, 

 and its position in a mass of irregularly placed trees 

 with grass growing about its base is particularly un- 

 fortunate, and gives it a very detached look. There is 

 a large plantation of stone-pines in the more remote 

 parts of the villa. These were placed there by the 

 great French landscape architect, Le Notre. They 

 give a certain dignity to the drives and from a dis- 

 tance suggest a more interesting place than one finds 

 upon closer examination. 



32 



