212 



GARDENS OLD AND NEW. 



The enclosure is formed by an admirable yew hedge, dense 

 and close as a wall ; but this boundary does not completely 

 surround the garden, whi:h on one side is margined by the 

 river and the wood. Straight pathways divide the space into 

 formal parterres, and there are stone-fringed flower-beds as 

 attractive features. One part of the area is devoted to pattern 

 gardening, and affords a very beautiful example of that style 

 of work. The pictures will show in what admirable state the 

 gardens are kept, and will also illustrate how the friendly neigh- 

 bourhood of the woods makes pleasant this form of gardening. 

 Along one side of this pleasaunce the South Esk flows, and the 

 steep wooded bank beyond is superb in its sylvan beauty. 



Near the stream, embayed in the yew hedge, stands a 

 magnificent sundial, and another is not far away. " What an 

 antique air,' : said Charles Lamb of the dials of the Temple, 

 'had the now almost effaced sundials, with their moral 

 inscriptions, seeming coevals with that time which they 



Along the bank of the river, and between the house and 

 the wood, runs the south terrace, which is one of the most 

 attractive regions of these enchanting gardens. Behind us are 

 the verdant and flower-gemmed places, and before us the 

 pellucid stream and the woodland haunt of the squirrel and the 

 murmuring wood-pigeon. Every variety of water plant appears 

 to be cultivated along the margin of the South Esk, and the 

 richness of the scene is extremely attractive. It is a 

 combination of garden, wood, and river not surpassed in many 

 places. Again, as a contrast on another side, are level la-.\ns 

 as an attractive foreground to the enlarged structure, being the 

 place where, in ancient times, monastic buildings stood. 



The splendid character of the Newbattle trees is found also 

 in those which form the great avenue in the approach from the 

 south, of which the length is over five hundred yards. They 

 are very majestic, and the whole character is one of much 

 magnificence. The great double gate-house, dating from the 



THE MAIDEN BRIDGE. 



neasured, and to take their revelations of its flight immediately 

 rom heaven, holding correspondence with the fountain of 

 ,iuht ! How would the dark line steal imperceptibly on, 

 watched by the eye of childhood, eager to detect its movement, 

 never catched, nice as an evanescent cloud, or the first arrests 

 of sleep!" Scotland is famous for its very picturesque and 

 attractive garden sundials, and excellent examples are at 

 Balcarres, Pitmedden, Woodhouselee, Duthie Parkin Aberdeen, 

 Stobhall in Perthshire, and other places, all offering a marked 

 c ntrast in style to such English dials as we have at Wrest in 

 Bedfordshire, at Wilton, and at Kew. The Newbattle dials, 

 perhaps, surpass any others. They rise from octagonal bases, 

 resting upon flights of steps, and with grotesque creatures 

 supporting the upper parts, upon which are the several 

 gnomons, while a pinnacle crowns the whole. The effect is 

 rather font-like, but the dials are singularly beautiful and 

 quaint, and are very richly worked. 



early part of the eighteenth century, is truly noble in its 

 broad and simple character. Two great gate-posts, wi.h 

 pilasters on every face, support magnificent urns, fluted, and 

 adorned with wreaths, and on either side of the posts are 

 short colonnades turning outwards, to unite the gateway with 

 the gate-houses, which are picturesque buildings of native 

 stone, with dressed angle-pieces. Each of these houses is 

 crested with a fine balustrade, crowned with pinnacles and 

 urns, and there are other architectural adornments well 

 befitting so noble a place, while the dense woods behind form 

 a fine background to the admirable architectural composition. 



Among the great houses of Scotland, this beautiful seat of 

 the Marquess of Lothian holds a deservedly high place. It is 

 not stately like s >me, but it has attractions in its woodland 

 landscape that are not possessed by many. Its gardens, 

 too, are radiantly beautiful, and arc a very fine example 

 of the gardener's art 



