1 8 My New Zealand Garden 



sign of the end of it. I think that Art, with all 

 her practical skill, took ^Estheticism by the hand, 

 and off they went together, and I seem to recognise 

 one of the results achieved by the amalgamation, 

 in pictures where some of our comely forms have 

 ceased to be portrayed in clothes. I quite agree 

 with an old nurse whom we once took to see some 

 statuary, when she expressed her opinion that 

 'they should have just a shawl or suffen.' She 

 had not attained to the acquired taste necessary 

 to appreciate the sight any more than the Suffolk 

 gamekeeper who was treated to the theatre, and 

 only uttered between his yawns whenever the 

 leading character appeared, ' Hinder 'ee be agin !' 

 Although I am such an ardent gardener, I do 

 not like even that work overdone. Where gravel 

 must be kept as smooth as a lake, and wheel- 

 marks removed as soon as made, I would just 

 as soon have the paths raked in patterns with 

 stepping-stones to walk upon like the Japanese ; 

 nor would I like my turf of such a velvety nature 

 that it is very treason to take a short-cut across 

 it. The spirit of ' dress and keep our gardens ' 

 only means do not neglect them, and if we 

 overdo the keeping of them it surely brings a 

 reaction, of which the fashionable wild garden 

 is the result. It belongs to a vitiated taste, 

 just as a person who has lived too long on made 

 dishes, appreciates a chop. 



