112 FIVE ACRES TOO MUCH. 



though they grumbled somewhat at being compelled 

 to carry their loads a considerably longer distance. 

 I had already marked out the general plan on paper 

 with that skill which has been occasionally referred 

 to ; the main idea was taken from a Chinese puzzle, 

 and had no equal in the most complicated produc 

 tions of the ablest masters of landscape gardening, 

 ancient or modern. 



It is well known that, according to the highest 

 standard of the art, the great point in laying out a 

 garden is to avoid the monotony of tame regularity ; 

 and in that line little more could be done. There 

 were beds shaped like stars and ellipses, worms and 

 circles, triangles and octagons ; some were round on 

 one side and flat on the other ; some had big heads 

 and little tails, and others diminished to nothing at 

 each end ; there were sinuosities and projections, 

 sharp points and easy curves, imitation bays and 

 promontories; large beds suddenly contracted, nar 

 row ones expanded ; what promised to be a long 

 stretch was broken off unexpectedly, and there cer 

 tainly was no danger of monotony. Amid these 

 wound the paths in the most admired irregularity, 

 never leading where one would naturally expect, 

 and giving the mind a vivid impression of the laby 

 rinth. 



