EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY EXTREMES 263 



regularity and kept up with great care: no plants are 

 admitted that intercept the view of the buildings, nor 

 any lines but such as accompany the architecture 

 properly, and contribute to the general symmetry and 

 good effect of the whole composition, for they hold it 

 absurd to surround an elegant fabric with disorderly 

 rude vegetation, saying it looks like a diamond set in 

 lead, and always conveys the idea of an unfinished 

 work. When the buildings are rustic the scenery 

 which surrounds them is wild, when they are grand it 

 is gloomy, when gay it is luxuriant: in short the 

 Chinese are scrupulously nice in preserving the same 

 character through every part of the composition ; which 

 is one great reason of that surprising variety with which 

 their works abound. 



"In their large gardens they contrive different scenes 

 for different times of the day, disposing at the points 

 of view, buildings which from their use point out the 

 proper hour for enjoying the view in its perfections; 

 and in their small ones, where, as has been observed, 

 one arrangement produces many representations, they 

 make use of the same artifice. They have beside 

 scenes for every season of the year: some for winter 

 generally exposed to the southern sun and composed 

 of pines, firs, cedars, evergreen oaks, phyllyrea, hollies, 

 yews, junipers, and many other evergreens, being en- 

 riched with laurels of various sorts, laurestinas, arbutus, 



