CHAPTER XII 



HISTORICAL GARDENS 



History is philosophy teaching by examples. 



BoLINGBROKE. 



LTHOUGH their number has sadly 

 diminished of late years, London 

 still has a few spaces remaining 

 which may be classed as gardens. 

 Often they are merely green 

 patches of a formal type, which 

 are better suited to the present 

 climate than attempts at flowers ; 

 but a few regular gardens still exist, bringing dreams 

 of a former period. In St. Bartholomew's Hospital, the 

 oldest of all such institutions, the square, with a hand- 

 some fountain in the centre, is more what one expects 

 to find in Italy than in Smithfield. It is this sort of 

 surprise that makes the charm of London, and renders 

 a wander through its mazes so attractive. What a 

 contrast the walk of a few minutes can bring in the 

 heart of London ! but of all these changes none is 

 more impressive than the hush of the Charterhouse 

 after the rush of Aldermanbury or the noise of Clerken- 

 well. There is still lingering there the touch of the 

 old monastery ; a breath of a bygone age seems to 



pervade the courtyards and gateways, and something in 



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