232 THE PRAISE OE GARDENS 



it, ' laboured with the soil to make it fit for the plants, and with 

 the plants to make them delight in the soil.' 



There is no part of the characters of Peiresc and Evelyn, 

 accomplished as they are in so many, which seems more delightful 

 to me, than their enthusiasm for the garden, the orchard, and the 

 forest. Curiosities of Literature. 



ALEXANDER f ANDSCAPE-PAINTING, notwithstanding the multiplication 



HU^IBOLDT ^ * ts P r ductions by engravings, and by the recent improve- 



(1769-1859). ments in lithography, is still productive of a less powerful effect than 



that excited in minds susceptible of natural beauty, by the immediate 



aspect of groups of exotic plants in hot-houses or in gardens. I 



have already alluded to the subject of my own youthful experience, 



and mentioned that the sight of a colossal dragon-tree and of a 



fan-palm in an old tower of the botanical garden at Berlin, im- 



planted in my mind the seeds of an irresistible desire to under- 



take distant travels. 



He who is able to trace through the whole course of his im- 

 pressions that which gave the first leading direction to his whole 

 career, will not deny the influence of such a power. Cosmos, 

 Part I., ii. 



