Ill 



ALBURY, SURREY 



OF all the fascinating characters of the Restora- 

 tion, none was more wholly delightful or 

 exercised a wider influence over his contemporaries 

 than John Evelyn. Living in the times of 

 Charles I., Oliver Cromwell, Charles II., James II., 

 and William III., though a pronounced Royalist, 

 he was yet respected by Cromwell no lover of the 

 King's friends and much sought after by both the 

 learned and the rich for the charm of his conversa- 

 tion and the greatness of his abilities. Evelyn has 

 left behind him two living evidences of his genius 

 his books and his Gardens. Of his many books 

 the one best known to-day is his Diary a veritable 

 treasure-house of customs, habits, and fashions at 

 one of the most interesting periods of history. And 

 his Gardens have justly earned for him the title of 

 the Greatest of England's Garden Philosophers. 

 Infinite charm is to be found in the Gardens de- 

 signed by Evelyn a charm apparently lost in these 



