Appendix 121 



commanded, lo the end, Mr. Downing's unreserved confi- 

 dence and respect. 



I remember a Christmas visit to Downing in 1850, after 

 his return from Europe, when we all danced to a fiddle upon 

 the marble pavement of the hall, by the light of rustic 

 chandeliers wreathed with Christmas green, and under the 

 antlers, and pikes, and helmets, and breastplates, and 

 plumed hats of cavaliers, that hung upon the walls. The 

 very genius of English Christmas ruled the revel. 



During these years he was engaged in superintending 

 the various new editions of his works, and looking forward 

 to larger achievements with maturer years. He designed 

 a greatly enlarged edition of the "Fruit-Trees," and spoke 

 occasionally of the "Shade-Trees," as a work which would 

 be of the greatest practical value. He was much interested 

 in the establishment of the Pomological Congress, was chair- 

 man of its fruit committee from the beginning, and drew 

 up the "Rules of American Pomology." Every moment 

 had its work. There was not a more useful man in America; 

 but his visitor found still the same quiet host, leisurely, 

 disengaged; picking his favorite flowers before breakfast; 

 driving here and there, writing, studying, as if rather for 

 amusement; and at twilight stepping into the wagon for a 

 loitering drive along the river. 



His love of the country and faith in rural influences were 

 too genuine for him not to be deeply interested in the im- 

 provement of cities by means of public parks and gardens. 

 Not only for their sanitary use, but for their elegance and 

 refining influence, he was anxious that all our cities should 

 be richly endowed with them. He alluded frequently to 

 the subject in the columns of his magazine, and when it was 

 resolved by Congress to turn the public grounds in Wash- 

 ington, near the Capitol, White House, and Smithsonian 

 Institute, into a public garden and promenade, Downing was 

 naturally the man invited by the President, in April, 1851, 

 to design the arrangement of the grounds and to superintend 

 their execution. All the designs and much of the work were 

 completed before his death. This new labor, added to the 



