Concluding Observations. 127 



the ninth century. And Mr. Gladstone, during his 

 recent visit here, when speaking of our Antiquities, 

 of whose existence he said he before knew only in 

 the abstract, expresses surprise at the position which 

 he found she occupied in those remote days : "I may 

 say those centuries when'she had almost a monopoly 

 of learning and piety, and when she, nearly alone, 

 held up the torch of civilization of true Christian 

 civilization to northern and western Europe." And 

 this is indorsed by our own countryman, Lecky, in 

 his late History of England. 



However various our opinions may be as to the 

 merits of that great liberal leader, King "William 

 the Third, we all may approve of the impulse 

 he gave to ornamental gardening in this king- 

 dom, as we may of dueen Mary's patronage of 

 ornamental porcelain. At the beginning of the last 

 century, probably, there were not more than one 

 thousand species of exotics in England ; and we read 

 that in the year 1724 there were only twelve of ever- 

 greens, and that five thousand kinds of exotic plants 

 were introduced during the century. Landscape 

 gardening was introduced into Ireland by Dr. 

 Delany, the friend of Swift, whose villa was in 

 Grlasnevin ; and somewhat about the same period a 

 florists' club was established in Dublin by Huguenot 

 refugees, which, however, meeting but little encou- 

 ragement, soon expired. The country and our people 

 were not yet ready for such recreations .and enjoy- 

 ments to a large extent or on a large scale. 



