Horace Walpole. 199 



the weak side of Kent's character his want 

 of majesty, and his extravagant and undis- 

 cerning imitation of nature ; but at the same 

 time he says, " That Kent's ideas were but 

 rarely great was in some measure owing to 

 the novelty of his art ; " and of course he 

 was followed by other men, who introduced 

 improvements on his plans as he had done 

 on those of Bridgman, excellent as both were 

 reckoned to be in their time and in relation 

 to those who had gone before them. Re- 

 ferring to the advance of later men on his 

 inventions and ideas, Walpole explains how 

 that progress was partly due to causes beyond 

 the control of Kent : 



" Succeeding artists have added new master-strokes 

 to these touches perhaps. The introduction of foreign 

 trees and plants, which we owe principally to Archi- 

 bald, Duke of Argyle, contributed essentially to the 

 richness of colouring so peculiar to our modern land- 

 scape. The mixture of various greens, the contrast 

 of forms between our forest-trees and the northern and 

 West-Indian firs and pines, are improvements more 

 recent than Kent, or but little known to him. The 

 weeping-willow and every florid shrub, each trace of 

 delicate or bold leaf, are new tints in the composition 



