232 POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN 



And who can ever think of Switzerland apart from 

 Matthew Arnold's two wonderful Obermann poems ? Do 

 not some spirits still exist who slip * their chain ' with 

 Matthew Arnold ? 



And to thy mountain chalet come, 



And lie beside its door, 

 And hear the wild bees' Alpine hum, 

 And thy sad, tranquil lore. 



Again I feel the words inspire 



Their mournful calm serene, 

 Yet tinged with infinite desire 



For all that might have been. 



De Senancour ! how these poems ' To Obermann ' have 

 carried your melancholy eloquence from the early years 

 of the century to its very end ! 



The first edition of the * Wild Garden ' was published 

 in 1881, and of all modern illustrated flower-books it is 

 the only one I know that makes me feel really enthu- 

 siastic. The drawings in it, by Mr. Alfred Parsons, are 

 exquisite and quite original. At the time of its publica- 

 tion the method was new, and, to my mind, it has not 

 yet been surpassed. I have also the fourth edition, which 

 came out in 1894, with much new matter and several new 

 illustrations, especially landscapes ; but I prefer the first 

 edition perhaps because we get fond of the particular 

 edition that originally gave pleasure. 



I am afraid that the hopeful instructions on 'wild 

 gardening ' so cheerfully laid down by Mr. Robinson 

 must be taken with a great many grains of salt when it 

 comes to putting them into practice, especially in dry 

 soils. With care, labour, knowledge, and space, exquisite 

 gardens may be laid out, suitable to the various soils of 

 England ; but, in my experience, even the best planting 

 goes off without renewal of the soil. This shows itself 

 with the happy possessors of these so-called 'wild gardens ' 



