THE ELIZABETHAN FLOWER-GARDEN 143 



magnificence, went slowly and marched with leisure and 

 with a certain grandity rather than gravity." Hentzner 

 mentions that at Oxford, " As soon as Grace was said 

 after every meal every one is at liberty either to retire 

 to his own chambers, or to walk in the College garden, 

 there being none that has not a delightful one." 



No rules about the proportions of paths were given, The forma- 

 tion of 

 but as a general thing they were rather narrower than pa ths. 



at present. Markham considers six feet sufficient for 

 wide walks. Ordinarily, they were strewn with fine 

 sand, or paved with tiles or with squares of stone like 

 the flagging in front of St. Catherine's Court. Fine 

 yellow gravel mixed with pebbles and coal dust was 

 recommended as de- 

 structive to weeds, 

 but otherwise con- 

 sidered undesirable. 

 Grass walks seem 

 to have been less 

 common than in 

 the next century. 



Alleys, as the 

 broader paths were 

 called, were often 

 shaded by trees, 

 their branches 

 pleached in an arch. 



COVE.RED WALK 5HRUBLANDS 



