222 A BOOK OF ENGLISH GARDENS 



made William II. prefer my Lord Nottingham's 

 house as a Royal residence to Holland House with 

 its beautiful gardens ? Here among the flowers 

 poets wrote verses, wits laughed at each other's 

 sallies, and Luttrell, the last of the conversational- 

 ists, made speech appear golden. Statesmen have 

 wandered under the old trees pondering weighty 

 matters that might make or mar a kingdom. Here 

 Fox, beloved of all, laughed, and planned the 

 helping of mankind. In the Green Lane lovers 

 have met and whispered vows broken and for- 

 gotten, actors have glibly rehearsed witty plays 

 amongst the winding paths, and in the glorious 

 trees Vandyke may have found the inspiration for 

 his leafy backgrounds. And in some shaded 

 corner brave men and true have huskily told the 

 fate of the world's greatest conqueror of England's 

 justice without mercy to a fallen foe. Here, too, 

 the famous Shippen immortalised by Pope, and 

 whom even Walpole declared incorruptible 

 walked, dreaming perhaps of Jacobite successes 

 and the restoration of a Stuart king. 



These are a few of the memories awakened 

 by a visit to the Gardens of Holland House. 

 The House and Garden are, however, so intimately 

 bound up together that it would be ruthless to 

 divorce them, especially as each gains interest from 

 the other, and both together have grown into a 

 beautiful whole. The Manor of Kensington 



