EVOLUTION OF THE GARDEN 29 



place was a fair pond, whose shaking crystal was a 

 perfect mirror to all the other beauties, so that it 

 bare show of two gardens ; one in deed and the other 

 in shadows; and in one of the thickets was a fine 

 fountain." 



VII 



Garden Pleasures 



There were many such splendid gardens. Shake- 

 speare was familiar, of course, with those of War- 

 wickshire, including the superb examples at Kenil- 

 worth, and with those in the vicinity of London. 



The Elizabethans used their gardens in many 

 ways. They took recreation in them in winter and 

 summer, and enjoyed the perfume and colors of 

 their flowers with an intensity of delight and ap- 

 preciation Trarely found to-day. In their gardens 

 the serious and the frivolous walked and talked, and 

 here they were frequently served with refreshments. 



It was also a fashion to use the garden as a set- 

 ting for masques and surprises, such as those Leices- 

 ter planned on a grand scale to please Queen Eliza- 

 beth at Kenilworth. Several of Ben Jonson's enter- 

 tainments were arranged for performance on the 

 terrace opening from house to garden. 



By looking into that mirror of the period, 



