14 UntroDuctfon 



more sincere and conscientious pursuit of 

 nature and her ways ; but no one who has en- 

 joyed the charm of the villas about Rome and 

 Florence when at their best can deny that a 

 certain formality, an obvious artifice, lends a 

 grace to the gardens appurtenant to these noble 

 palaces. 



The straight terraces of the Villa Pamfili 

 Doria, the delightful walks bordered with 

 azalea and camellia, the surrounding groves of 

 pines, firs, and sombre cypresses form an artis- 

 tic whole, which should relieve Le Notre from 

 the oblivion to which Walpole consigned him 

 for his miserable failure with St. James' Park. 

 Bel Respirio the Romans call this lovely spot 

 where the refinement of the artificial foreground 

 gives the highest artistic value to the distant 

 Campagna, with its fringe of purple hills. 



The Florentine villas retain their ancient 

 gardens embellished with statues and the tri- 

 umphs of topiarian skill, and are not out of 

 harmony with the scene, but the modern 

 Florentine has sought fresh fields, green pas- 

 tures, and wild woods by the banks of the Arno, 



