210 



GARDENS OLD /t^b miv. 



carried through the parkland, which before had been left 

 in native wildness. 



In "The Formal Garden in England," by Mr. Reginald 

 Blomfield and Mr. F. Inigo Thomas, the following account 

 is given of the work of Henry Wise at Melbourne : 

 " The lower wall (of the old garden) was probably 

 removed, and an extensive faisjitct or grove planted, with 

 a great water-piece and several smaller fountains. Long 

 alleys with palisades of limes were formed, and an amphitheatre 

 of limes with vistas radiating in all directions from a superb 

 lead urn in the centre. The ground is of irregular plan, but the 

 difficulties are met by the design in a most masterly manner. 

 Some alterations were made in the garden about fifty 

 years ago. Other- 

 wise the original 

 design is substantially 

 perfect, and is a very 

 valuable instance of 

 a garden laid out 

 when the French 

 influence was st.ll 

 dominantin England." 

 The book from which 

 this quotation is made 

 is one which can 

 hardly be charac- 

 terised in terms of 

 excess of praise, for in 

 it Mr. Blomfield and 

 Mr. Inigo Thomas, 

 who have distinct and 

 c'ear ideas, expre,s 

 their views with rare 

 moderation of tone. 

 The trees have now 

 grown to grand 

 dimensions, and are 

 lovely in form and 

 colour ; and the Vice- 

 Chamberlain, it" he 

 ever conceived the full 

 effect of his work, 

 must have lamented 

 that he could never 

 see its prime, and 

 to him we owe honour 

 for the pleasures he 

 prepared for pos- 

 terity. 



Our pictures 

 illustrate admirably 

 what is the character 

 of these noble 

 gardens. The great 

 water- piece is particu- 

 larly fine, and has a 

 somewhat elaborate 

 character. Its formal 

 outline is broken by 

 curves, there being 

 a half quatrefoil on 

 the further side, 

 where the curious 

 cage is seen. The 

 hedges of yew, with 



THE FLYING A'.ERCURY. 



wrought iron rnrden-house 

 green verges of gra s, 

 recesses for seats and 



or bird- 

 the dense 

 statues, the 



great belt of splendid trees in the background, and the 

 hill ris ng beyond, combine to create a very remarkable 

 and striking effect. 



The leaden statues and adornments of Ihe gardens 

 are among the most characteristic features at Melbourne, 

 and are as important as anything of the kind in Hngland. 

 In the view of the ornamental water, the very notable 

 figure of Perseus will be discovered in its niche in the 

 yew hedge, as well as the most remarkable Flying Mercury 

 on a ped-slal nearer the foreground, of which also a larger 

 picture is given. 



The Black Slave is extremely fine, and the wrestling 

 Cupids and the other figures and urns are all particularly 

 interesting. White marble is a very lovely material, 

 but it sometimes looks cold under English skies, while 

 t'.ie colour of old leadwork belongs as it were to the 

 garden, and has a charm all its own. Bacon, in his 

 time, had some objection to statuary. The princely garden 

 he spoke of, in which no cost was spared, had perhaps no 

 such adornments. There were those, he said, who, taking 

 advice with workmen, instead, perhaps, of seeking that of men 

 like h'mself, would " set their things together," an.l sometimes 

 add statues and such things, for state and magnificence, "but 

 nothing to the true pleasure of a garden." Yet statuary is of 



ancient d a t e i n 

 English gardens. At 

 (he famous house of 

 the Lord Treasurer 

 Burleigh at Theobalds 

 there was a semi- 

 circular s u in in e r- 

 house, with twelve 

 Roman emperors in 

 white marble standing 

 round the curve, as 

 terminal busts, we 

 may suppose, and 

 here in leaden cisterns 

 was water for fish, 

 or for bathing in the 

 s u m in e r . No one 

 truly can gainsay that 

 such statues as those 

 at Melbourne are at 

 home amid those lofty 

 groves and stately 

 hedges. 



The F o u n ta i n 

 Walk, with sparkling 

 showers, and the 

 Crow Walk' are two 

 striking illustrations 

 of the rare beauty 

 that belongs to this 

 style. The trees are 

 noble in si/.e and 

 aspect, the yew 

 hedges are grand, 

 and the green turf is 

 delightful to tread. 

 Where there are trees 

 like these, we have 

 beauty alike in the 

 bursting green of the 

 spring, the riper hues 

 o leafy June, agiin 

 when the foliage turns 

 to red and gold, and 

 still when autumn 

 has blown, a n d 

 above the great yew 

 hedges the matchless 

 tracery of the 

 trees is lifted agiinst the sky. Very characteristic is the 

 long yew walk ihe length from the top to the fountain is 

 abjut 120 paces and the width is I2ft. inside which has 

 c! )sely-knitted branches, making an almost impenetrable 

 sh ide. 



Like Queen Mary's Bjwer of wych elm at Hampton 

 Couit, it is, to use Evelyn's words, "for the perplexed 

 twining of the trees very observable." There is, however, 

 s<iiiK-ihmg goo.l and characteristic wherever we look at 

 Melbourne. We have dwelt only on the distinctive 

 character and more noteworthy features of the place, 

 but the visitor will fi.id there many other delights drawn 

 from the rich and fragrant storehouse of the gardening 

 world. 



"Cnntry Lift." 



