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ENGLISH PLEASURE GARDENS 



The Eagle 

 Pond. 



The par- the ground northeast of the Abbey now occupied by two 

 the Abbey, parterres of flowers, edged with box and a square of grass 



planted with yew trees, 

 shading a monument to 

 the poet's favourite dog. 

 Byron himself would also 

 have been buried here, if his 

 wish had not been disre- 

 garded on the supposition 

 that this was not holy 

 ground ; though, in fact, as 



the monks' cemetery, it had been consecrated long before. 

 Formerly, kitchen and physic gardens would naturally 

 have been placed within the ancient enclosure where 

 now are two box-bordered squares of flowers. Both 

 are freely planted with all sorts of common annuals 

 and perennials, larkspur, bachelor's buttons, foxglove, 

 and the like, giving them the same delightful appear- 

 ance as the quaint, old-fashioned gardens in New England. 

 Outside the walls, but as was frequently the case, within 

 bow-shot for the sake of their protection, lies the large 

 oblong sheet of water known as the Eagle Pond. Its 

 name is derived from a brass, eagle-shaped lectern, prob- 

 ably hidden by the friars at the time of the dissolution of 

 their order by King Henry VIII, and discovered centuries 

 afterward lying at the bottom of this pond. The broad, 

 green margin of grass is a characteristic feature, while 



