204 A BOOK OF ENGLISH GARDENS 



is divided from the knots of flowers by a clipped 

 Yew hedge ; and in the days of the Princess 

 Elizabeth, as well as in more modern times, the 

 Parterres were no doubt filled with Bachelor's 

 Buttons, Cornflowers, Daisies, Iris, Lavender, 

 Peonies, Periwinkles, Stocks, and Gilliflowers. In 

 the centre stands a small Fountain with a basin 

 containing goldfish a feature Bacon "liked not." 

 North of the Privy Garden, with "its covert way," 

 entered by a flight of steps, lies the sunken Rosary, 

 laid out in a series of half-circles with a round Pond 

 in the centre. This Rosary looks very quaint, 

 placed as it is on a large grass Lawn, planted with 

 splendid Chestnut trees, standing on the west side 

 of the great courtyard of the present House, and 

 flanked by the old Palace on the east. Fancy 

 depicts the Cardinal as having walked in this 

 "Garden of Perfumes," as it was sometimes called, 

 sweet with the scent of the Briar hedges and the 

 delicate fragrance of the dusky red damask Roses, 

 such Roses as the folk long ago loved to plant (the 

 virtue of size versus scent being left to the nine- 

 teenth century to discover) to say nothing of the 

 scented Marjoram and the wild Thyme. Such herbs 

 were planted for the sake of their blended perfume. 

 The delight of this Rosary would undoubtedly 

 appeal very strongly to the great Churchman, who 

 possessed such a keen eye for the beautiful in 

 everything. 



