1 6 THE PRAISE OF GARDENS 



grand dining-room, which opens upon one end of the terrace ; l 

 as from the windows there is a very extensive prospect over the 

 meadows up into the country, from whence you also have a view 

 of the terrace and such parts of the house which project forward, 

 together with the woods enclosing the adjacent hippodrome. 

 Opposite almost to the centre of the portico stands a square 

 edifice, which encompasses a small area, shaded by four plane- 

 trees, in the midst of which a fountain rises, from whence 

 the water, running over the edges of a marble basin, gently 

 refreshes the surrounding plane-trees and the verdure underneath 

 them. ... In the front of these agreeable buildings lies a very 

 spacious hippodrome, entirely open in the middle, by which 

 means the eye, upon your first entrance, takes in its whole extent 

 at one glance. It is encompassed on every side with plane-trees 

 covered with ivy, so that while their heads flourish with their own 

 foliage, their bodies enjoy a borrowed verdure ; and thus the ivy, 

 twining round the trunk and branches, spreads from tree to tree, 

 and connects them together. 



Between each plane-tree are planted box-trees, and behind 

 these, bay-trees, which blend their shade with that of the planes. 

 This plantation, forming a straight boundary on both sides of the 

 hippodrome, bends at the farther end into a semicircle, which, 

 being set round and sheltered with cypress-trees, varies the 

 prospect, and casts a deeper gloom ; while the inward circular 

 walks (for there are several), enjoying an open exposure, are 

 perfumed with roses, and correct, by a very pleasing contrast, 

 the coolness of the shade with the warmth of the sun. Having 

 passed through these several winding alleys, you enter a straight 

 walk, which breaks out into a variety of others, divided by box- 

 hedges. In one place you have a little meadow, in another the 

 box is cut into a thousand different forms : 2 sometimes into 

 letters expressing the name of the master ; sometimes that of 

 the artificer ; whilst here and there little obelisks rise, intermixed 



) terrace (properly a large portico for athletic exercises). 

 2 Matius is said to have introduced the fashion of ' shaping ' trees, the 

 ars topiaria. 



