WALKS. 



549 



WALKS. 



Notwithstanding the dictum of Shenstone, 

 who was, perhaps, a greater landscape 

 gardener than poet, and who tells us 

 " that when a building or other object has 

 been once viewed from its 

 proper point, the foot 

 should never travel to it 

 by the same path which 

 FIG. i. PROPER the eye has travelled over 

 vE R D G E ENcI UI " before," there are few 

 persons who do not think 

 a handsome seat or temple, a beautiful 

 fountain, or ^a statue, a pleasing termina- 

 tion to a walk of 100 to $00 yards long. 

 Certainly the rest the seat affords, and the 

 pleasure imparted by the other objects, will 

 not be the less refreshing or satisfactory 

 because we are made aware of their 

 proximity by walking right up to them. 

 The size and importance of the terminal 

 objects, must, however, always correspond 

 in magnitude and importance with the 

 length and width of the walk, and archi- 

 tectural objects only are suitable termini 

 for straight paths. Curved walks may 

 have rustic buildings, moss, root, or heath- 

 houses, of every variety of pattern and 

 design, simple seats, secluded grottos with 

 suitable inscriptions, ornamental bridges 

 of antique shape, and rustic fountains, 

 either as embellishments or as termini to 

 them ; for there is great truth in Shen- 

 stone's remark, that a rural scene is never 

 perfect without the addition of some kind 

 of building. Generally a walk should not 

 terminate at any particular object: it is 

 unsatisfactory to be 

 compelled to return by 

 the same route as we 

 advance. Other walks 

 should diverge from it, 

 to give a choice of FIG. 2.- IMPROPER 

 routes. The proper 



,. r T 



line of divergence is 



of consequence ; Repton says, where two 



walks separate from each other, it is 



MODE OF 



VERGENCE. 



always desirable to have them diverge in 

 different directions, as in Fig. I, rather 

 than give the idea of recurvity, as in Fig. 2. 

 When two walks join each other, it is 

 generally better that they should meet at 

 right angles, rather than leave the sharp 

 point, as in the acute angle in Fig. 3. The 

 great thing is to avoid a stiff uniformity, 

 and give meaning to the curves on a 

 walk by judiciously planting firs, limes, 

 &c. 



Walks should always avoid skirting the 

 boundary of pleasure grounds, although 

 they may occasionally approach it ; and, 

 as a general rule, one should never be 

 vis-a-vis, for any great distance, to another ; 

 and then these walks should be of different 

 widths, according to their relative import- 

 ance ; each walk should also maintain the 

 same width through- 

 out, unless it passes 

 through rock-work, 

 when it should be 

 distinguished by irregu- 

 larity of width, abrupt FIG> 3- WALKS 



, , . . MEETING AT TOO 



bends, and capricious un- ACUTE AN ANGLE 

 dulations ; the trim walk 

 should then be lost in rough attempts 

 at the mountain path, although the 

 idea of safety must still be preserved. 

 Grass walks are not so common as they 

 were. On well-drained lawns the whole 

 surface becomes a walk at pleasure, and 

 grass walks ought never to be depended 

 upon as necessary routes to or from any 

 given place. When of great length, and 

 12 or 1 8 feet wide, however, they have a 

 noble effect. The late Mr. Loudon 

 recommends, where there is much traffic 

 on grass walks, that their bottom should be 

 formed with stone, as if for gravel ; but it 

 will be more satisfactory to make good 

 gravel walks for the general traffic, and 

 reserve the grass walks and keep them 

 closely cut for pleasant promenades '.n 

 fine weather. 



