THE EFFECT OF TREES 



Marigolds grow profusely, and some merciful sentiment 

 has allowed an old twisted Apple tree to remain there. 



The old bowling-green is still beautifully kept, the 

 grass is smooth and fair, not a Daisy or Plantain is there 

 to mar the splendour of the turf. The Acacia tree, now 

 grown old and venerable, spreads out fine branches, and 

 gives delightful shade. Here and there new arches of 

 rustic woodwork, in horrible designs, stretch over the 

 paths, their ugliness partly hidden by climbing Roses of 

 the Seven Sisters kind, or Clematis, or Honeysuckle, or 

 Jasmine. Many trees in the garden are old enough to 

 exchange memories of a hundred years ago ; the orchard 

 alone boasts a venerable congregation of old trees, some 

 grey with lichen, some bowed down with the result of 

 full crops. 



New ghosts walk the garden paths in crinolines and 

 Leghorn hats, and side curls, talking to gentlemen with 

 glossy side whiskers, peg-top trousers, and tartan waist- 

 coats. 



On the bowling-green the new game is laid out, and 

 ladies and gentlemen talk learnedly of bisques, and the 

 correct weight of croquet mallets. There is a fresh 

 sound for the garden, the smack of croquet balls. 



And now nearly all the ghosts vanish, and the old man 

 who is sitting under the Acacia tree looks around and 

 sees his garden as it is to-day, fuller of flowers than ever it 

 was, with the hideous set borders done away with, with 

 the little rustic arches pulled down and a pergola, pro- 

 perly built, in their place, and all of the horrors of Early 

 Victorian gardening gone for good, the plaster nymphs 

 and cupids, the tree called a " Monkey Puzzler," the 

 terrible rockery of clinkers and bad bricks. Here, as in 

 the house, taste has triumphed over fashion. Inside the 

 oak panels that had been covered over with hideous 

 wallpapers are brought to light. The wool mats have 



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