274 



ENGLISH PLEASURE GARDENS 



Carmon- 

 telle's 

 theatric 

 theory. 



Rusticity. 



erected apparently in memory of no one in particular, 

 was placed in the midst of a gloomy grove, and served 

 to enhance its sad and solitary appearance ; while Comte 

 d'Artois had to satisfy himself at Bagatelle with the 

 disused tomb of one of the Pharaohs. Further evidence 

 of this funereal taste was seen at Le Plessis, Chamant, 

 and other gardens of this period. 



Carmontelle, a garden architect and historian, had a 

 good deal of influence in forming the French taste of his 

 day. His theory was that, as French customs, tastes, and 

 climate differed from the English, their gardens should 

 not be a servile imitation of those across the Channel, 

 but should be composed with regard to these differences. 

 The French were a theatric nation, their gardens should 

 be made "pays d'illusions," where the change of scene 

 should resemble that on the stage. They should not be 



wholly occupied with repre- 

 senting the "vie purement 

 champetre," since the actual 

 peasantry did not comprise 

 such types as were painted 

 by Boucher or Fontenelle or 

 appeared among the singers 

 at the opera. 



Rusticity found its expo- 

 nents at the Pare Monceau and at Chantilly. Here were 

 rural hamlets, including barns, dairies, mills, inns, and 



GOTHIC DA1RY.HODDESDON 



