General Principles 53 



8. Sjrmmetry. — That a palpable attention to symmetry 

 should distinguish gardens laid okit in a formal manner, no 

 one will dispute. The ridicule conveyed in the well-known 

 ^ouplet, — 



" Grove nods at grove, each alley has a brother, 

 And half the platform just reflects the other; " — 



is, though widely circulated, and often revived, by no means 

 to be admitted as the test of truth. Such gardens would be 

 nothing unless the nicest balance was preserved. Symmetry 

 and regularity are their very essence, as well as that of archi- 

 tecture, on which they are founded; for in good models of the 

 most irregular buildings, the truest adjustment of parts is 

 strictly observed. There should also be a beautiful balance 

 maintained, however subtile and disguised it may be, in the 

 proportions of every garden, whatever be its style. Not that 

 the same description of objects placed in similar positions 

 should be found on the opposite sides of gardens, but that 

 their general effect should be that one side is, as a whole, 

 about equal to the other in height and breadth; or, at least, 

 that such an impression should remain on the mind of any 

 one glancing over the two. 



9. Gradation, or the -agreeable transition of one part of a 

 garden into the other, without any decided breaks, or marked 

 interference with harmony, should always be striven after, as 

 it will enable the designer to use parts of different styles and 

 a variety of ornaments, and yet preserve enough of consis- 

 tency and smoothness. But the gradation to which I would 

 most directly advert is that which treats the different parts 

 of a place as so many ascending steps, until the highest and 

 best points are reached. As in a house the exterior should 

 be but little decorated, the vestibule or porch plain, the hall 

 only a trifle more ornate, and the various rooms more and 



