Ill THE FORMAL GARDEN 65 



and unattractive, but in actual fact — that is, 

 when the trees are fully grown — their effect 

 is very fine. And here, again, the straight- 

 forwardness, or what one might call the honesty 

 of the formal method is clearly shown. If a 

 landscape is to be altered, it may just as well 

 be altered frankly ; and these designers, liking 

 long lines of trees and the vistas of great 

 avenues, planted their straight lines without 

 any affectation that the work was nature's. At 

 the same time this practice was, perhaps, the 

 first sign of the coming decadence. It was a 

 failure in that strictly logical system which 

 separated the garden from the park, and left 

 the latter to take care of itself— a system which 

 frankly subordinated nature to art within the 

 garden wall, but in return gave nature an 

 absolutely free hand outside it. These avenues 

 and rides were an attempt to manipulate the 

 face of an entire countryside, and gave a point 

 of departure to the futilities of Brown and the 

 improvers of nature in the following century. 



Generally speaking, the influence of Le Notre 

 and his school showed itself in the increased 

 scale of English gardens, and in greater elabora- 

 tion of detail. The gardens of Melbourne 

 Hall, in Derbyshire, are a perfect instance of 

 the French manner in England on a moderate 

 scale. These gardens were remodelled and 

 considerably enlarged for Thomas Coke, after- 

 wards vice - chamberlain to George I., from 



