518 LETTERS FROM ENGLAND. 



this sketch of the arboretum at Derby, let me give you an outline 

 of another garden in the midst of the Regent's Park, at the west end 

 of London. It cannot, perhaps, be strictly called a public garden ; 

 ^t is, more properly, a subscription garden, as it was made, and is 

 maintained, by about sixteen hundred members, who either pay 

 twenty guineas at the outset, or two guineas a year. The privileges 

 they have, are the free enjoyment of the grounds, conservatories, etc., 

 at all times, and the admission of their friends (not more than two 

 per day) by tickets. As there is no other way of getting admis- 

 sion (even the fee, that is so all-potent in most cases, does not pre- 

 vail here), of course, very few strangers ever see this garden the 

 best worth seeing, of its kind, perhaps, in all Europe. As I had, 

 fortunately, been one of the honorary members for some years, I 

 was glad to claim my rights, soon after my arrival in London. 



The scene, as you enter the grounds, is extremely beautiful and 

 striking, especially when you recall (what, without an effort, you 

 would certainly forget) that you are in the midst of a vast city ; or, 

 at the most, barely on the borders of it. Here is a large velvet 

 lawn, admirably kept, the surface gently undulating, and stretching 

 away indefinitely (to all appearance) on either side, losing itself 

 amid belts and groups and masses of shrubs and trees, with winding 

 walks stealing off, here and there, in the most inviting manner, to 

 the right and left. At the end of the broad walk, at the farther 

 side of the great lawn, which forms the central feature to the gar- 

 den, stands a noble conservatory of immense size, with lofty curved 

 roof; and on either side of it are small hot-houses, full of all the 

 novelties of the day, and all the treasures of the exotic Flora. 



There cannot be a finer contrast, in point of tasteful arrangement 

 and beauty of effect, than that which this garden presents to the 

 arboretum at Derby. They were both formed about the same time, 

 and the extent is not greatly different ; the whole area of this place 

 being only eighteen acres.* Here, the utmost beauty, variety, and 

 interest are concentrated within these moderate limits. As you 

 enter, you are struck by the breadth and extent of the broad velvet 



* It gains greatly by being in the midst of the Regent's Park, with ita 

 boundaries concealed by thickets, over which the trees in the park make a 

 pleasingly indefinite backgrourd. 



