Natural Hijrory of the Ancients. 141 



in gardening, and a more natural tafte revived. 

 Then came the era of the landfcape gardeners 

 " Capability " Brown and his followers. It is un- 

 neceflary to follow further the fortunes of the 

 art. Rapin has fung the garden in Latin and 

 Cowper in Englifh verfe ; while Sir Thomas 

 Browne, in his " Garden of Cyrus," and Evelyn 

 in his "Acetaria" and " Sylva," have left claflical 

 treatifes which no lover of a garden can afford to 

 neglect. At prefent we fee a decided revolt from 

 the tyranny of ribbon-beds, zones of colour, and 

 the frigid artificial ftyle which has for fome years 

 found favour with fociety, to a more natural and 

 lefs laborious character, in which fimplicity far 

 tranfcends art, in the eyes of all who have ftudied 

 the relations between thefe two principles of 

 gardening. The effects of geometrical gardening 

 and lines of bedding-plants can be feen with more 

 permanence in a brilliant carpet ; for the delight- 

 ful refults of improving Nature and prefTmg her 

 wildings into a decent conformity with man's 

 needs and his fenfe of beauty, we muft refort to 

 fome fuch charming piece of tutored negligence as 

 was fo daintily depicted by Lord Beaconsfield in 

 the garden of Corifande. 



