206 A HISTORY OF GARDENING IN ENGLAND. 



All through the garden, in the dingle, or by the side of the 

 serpentine walks, seats, grottoes, ruins or urns, appeared at 

 unexpected places, and were inscribed with lines addressed to 

 some friend, or singing the praises of some natural beauty. 



Most conspicuous among the innovations was the change in 

 the form of the ornamental sheets of water. " Stone basons," 

 marble fountains, and straight canals, were swept away, or 

 converted into miniature waterfalls, winding streams, or artificial 

 lakes. Lord Bathurst, at Ryskins, near Colebrook,* was the 

 first to make a winding stream through a garden, and so unusual 

 was the effect that his friend, Lord Stafford, could not believe it 

 had been done on purpose, and supposing it to have been for 

 economy, asked him " to own fairly how little more it would 

 have cost to have made the course of the brook in a strait 

 direction." About this time Queen Caroline " threw a string of 

 ponds in Hyde Park into one to form what is called the 

 Serpentine River." This is only one among many instances 

 which show that these so-called reforms, undertaken with the 

 aim of increased simplicity, resulted in greater stiffness and 

 formality. This is not to be wondered at, when we take into 

 account the influence of Chinese gardening on this school of 

 design. Sir William Chambers, one of this new class of 

 gardeners, had, in his youth, made a voyage to China and 

 brought back from that country ideas which he set forth in his 

 work entitled, Dissertations on Oriental Gardening. The Pagoda 

 at Kew, designed by him, is a well-known monument of this 

 passing fashion. A Chinese writer, Lien-tschen, himself lays 

 down the principles which ruled their gardening t: "The Art 

 of laying out gardens consists in an endeavour to combine 

 cheerfulness of aspect, luxuriance of growth, shade, solitude, 

 and repose, in such a manner that the senses may be deluded 

 by an imitation of rural Nature." Alluding to this supposed 

 resemblance of English gardens to those of China, Oliver 

 Goldsmith wrote, "The English have not yet brought the art 

 of gardening to the same perfection with the Chinese, but 



* Progress of Gardening. By Barrington. Archceologia, Vol. V. 

 f" Praise of ^Gardens. By Siveking, p. 17. 



