Introduction 



and favour of Louis XIV, scarcely surpassed him 

 in opportunity. He became the medium for the 

 practical expression of all that was best in the 

 " new " gardening, and he showed himself capable 

 at the same time of respecting and preserving 

 what was most worthy in the old or formal style. 

 He was not an iconoclast. His taste was catholic. 

 In discussing the two schools he says : " I do not 

 profess to follow either Le Notre or Brown, but, 

 selecting beauties from the style of each, to adopt 

 so much of the grandeur of the former as may 

 accord with a palace, and so much of the grace 

 of the latter as may call forth the charms of nat- 

 ural landscape. Each has its proper situation, and 

 good taste will make fashion subservient to good 

 sense." Repton possessed exquisite refinement of 

 taste, without reaching the point of fastidiousness. 

 He displayed considerable ingenuity in meeting 

 peculiar problems, and a sympathetic knowledge 

 of the necessities of a convenient and comfortable 

 home. His pleasant personality, goodness of heart, 

 and amiability undoubtedly helped his professional 

 success. But the most significant contribution that 

 remains for this and subsequent generations is his 

 careful and complete statement in writing of the 

 principles that he found fundamental in his long 

 and instructive practice as a landscape gardener. 



John Nolen. 

 Cambridge, Mass., June, 1907. 



