THE ENGLISH LANDSCAPE SCHOOL 



295 



and on the other side at the boundary, which is never more than a few yards 

 from him and always obtruding upon his sight ; from time to time he per- 

 ceives a little seat or temple stuck up against the wall ; he rejoices at the 

 discovery, sits down, rests his wearied limbs, and then reels on again, cursing 

 the line of beauty ; till, spent with fatigue, nearly roasted by the sun, for 

 there is never any shade, and tired for want of entertainment, he resolves 

 to see no more ; vain resolution ! There is but one path ; he must either 

 drag on to the end, or return 

 back by the same tedious way 

 he came. Such is the favour- 

 ite plan of all our smaller 

 gardens, and our larger works 

 are only a repetition of the 

 smaller ones ; more green 

 fields, more shrubberies, more 

 serpentine walks, and more 

 seats." 



In his own work Cham- 

 bers brought to bear a highly 

 cultivated mind upon the 

 subject of garden design and 

 did what he could to check 

 the absurdities that were be- 

 ing perpetrated everywhere. 

 In this, however, he was not 

 altogether successful, and the 

 Chinese style, in the hands of 

 less skilful designers, led to 

 the erection of the most 



amazing of garden freaks. The interest in China was further stimu- 

 lated when Lord Macartney conducted the first diplomatic mission to that 

 country. Chambers was afterwards appointed superintendent of the royal 

 gardens and designed the gardens at Kew in 1730; he constructed several 

 Chinese buildings, including the Pagoda (illus., p. 293) which still remains 

 a monument to this extraordinary passing craze for things Chinese. He is 

 more happy when designing the graceful little garden buildings ; the little 



AN ARBOUR AT KEW, DESIGNED BY SIR WILLIAM 

 CHAMBERS. 



