GARDENS OF CELEBRITIES 



paint it under some such aspect. Ultimately my drawing was made 

 in late October, when the spot looks much as in February, for 



" The sedge has withered from the lake 

 And no birds sing." 



Earlier in the year the pretty little moor-hens and the larger 

 water-fowl disport themselves gaily in the pool ; and the peacock 

 makes its margin its haunt, furling and unfurling its brilliant 

 plumage fanlike in the sunshine. The fine strut of the bird over 

 the lawns at Chiswick is natural and excusable when his gorgeous 

 tail can sweep the turf ; but it is ludicrous after the moulting 

 season, when seemingly all unconscious of the deplorable change 

 in his appearance, he often parades the grounds, dragging after 

 him the one miserable, mangy feather which is all that is left in 

 his tail ! 



It would, however, be unfair to Kent to let the reader suppose 

 that the Chiswick House grounds are melancholy. They are far 

 from being so ; here and there the designer deliberately struck the 

 chord of sadness, and worked in the minor key, but for the most 

 part they are charmingly cheerful, and I can conceive of a delightful 

 week's holiday spent entirely in the shady groves and sunny glades 

 of these delectable gardens. 



The trees are magnificent, and very varied. No words can 

 exaggerate the exquisite beauty in early summer, when the green 

 of the young leaves is fresh, of the very long avenue of limes, 

 which leads from one principal gate to another : nor of the striking 

 aspect of the south front of the house, when, if one proceed a little 

 farther, it bursts upon one's view through a double avenue of giant 

 cedars and limes. Beneath the cedars are ranged terminal busts, 

 antique vases, and recumbent animals, carved in stone. Lord 

 Burlington brought from abroad much fine sculpture, some of which 

 has no doubt been removed to Chatsworth and elsewhere, by the 

 Dukes of Devonshire who have succeeded him : a good deal, 

 however, still remains ; notably, there are some lovely flower- vases 

 of fine Greek workmanship, in the Italian flower-garden. 



The serpentine lake is over 2,000 feet long by 60 feet wide. Water 

 from the Bollo Brook supplies it, the overflow finding its way into 

 the River Thames. The lake is spanned by the handsome stone 

 bridge before referred to, and at its lower extremity by a wooden 

 one. We cross the stone bridge and follow the footpath on the 



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