GARDENS OF THE STUARTS 



179 



and other branches springing from it well composed, 

 is the only permanent inanimate object of delight the 

 world affords. 



" Such is its pre-excellency that scarce a cottage of 

 the southern parts of England but hath its propor- 

 tionate garden." 



In many respects the garden remained the same 

 as in the time of Queen Elizabeth. It formed an ad- 

 junct to the dwelling-house, which was entered through 

 a forecourt and 

 possibly a house 

 court; it was to 

 be square in form, 

 enclosed by walls, 

 a hedge, or a 

 fence, and often 

 adjoined by a ter- 

 race. But the fan- 

 tastic spirit of the 

 early Renaissance had been broken by Puritanical 

 common-sense. Quaint figures in clipped box, elaborate 

 wooden galleries, and luxurious masses of flowers began 

 to seem superfluous. Despite protests, carefully raked 

 gravel paths, smooth squares of grass, and a few 

 specimens of rare exotics were now the centres of 

 admiration. 



In Pepys' " Diary " he records a conversation with 



THE TERRACE 



