THE GARDENS 289 



prevalent is attributable to the active existence of 

 the racing establishment of John Porter, the 

 employment it directly and indirectly gives to the 

 inhabitants, and the money it causes to circulate. 

 1 The town ' is not insensible to this, or ungrateful 

 to its chief supporter, as we shall find further on. 



Whether the visitor to Park House stroll through 

 the gardens, while mine host is temporarily engaged 

 with other visitors, or he be at once received in the 

 hall and explore an interior that is rich in relics and 



<^ '■■:>-. 



STUD-GROOM S COTTAGE 



mementoes of the Turf, and otherwise full of objects 

 of interest, his lot is equally fortunate. In the former 

 case there are the birds in the pheasantry, bred 

 mostly by Mr. Arthur Yates — another gift of that old 

 friend of John Porter's — to arrest attention. The 

 aviary where the pheasants are housed might be a 

 section of the pheasant department in the Zoo. 

 The roses, with, it will seem to the visitor, every 

 choice flower and rare flowering shrub that ' in the 

 garden grows,' all the sweet flowers of the familiar 

 orders, the fruit trees and bushes, with a wealth of 



u 



