676 



Garden Memorandums. 



and the fire-place an arch of the size of that of an ordinary bridge. The door 

 of the kitchen is large enough to admit a waggon ; it is on the first floor, with 



an immense oak staircase. We remained at , making sketches, and 



staking out improvements till the 12th. The time was spent in beating down 

 prejudices in favour of certain trees, hedges, and fences; in defending the 

 positions of certain proposed single trees and small groups; and in opposing 

 notions in respect to various improvements, which it was our business and 

 duty to point out. Nothing could ever make up to us for the pain and 

 slavery of ten days spent in this way, but the pecuniary compensation. When 

 an artist is not great enough to be an autocrat in matters of his profession, 

 and at the same time is not little enough to chime in with whatever is pro- 

 posed to him ; when he has to address himself to a mind that is without faith 

 in his taste, that cannot reason on what is proposed, and that has a morbid 

 feeling of opposition to all ideas that are not already familiar ; every change 

 which it is proposed to introduce produces a battle. At least fifty of these 

 stormy but perfectly good-natured discussions, took place during the ten 



days which we remained at . One of these discussions our travelling 



companion, who acted at the time as our draughtsman and amanuensis 

 endeavoured to commemorate by a sketch {fig. 151.), which^as it has been 



\3\. 







engraved at his expense, may be said to cost nothing to our readers, and as 

 neither the names of persons nor places are mentioned, it is hoped no one 

 will take olFence where none is meant to be given. The grouping and ex- 

 pression may serve as hints to young gardeners learning to draw. 



Gainsborough to Retford and Barnsley. — Passed by a fine field of cows 

 near Marton ; they were of the long-horned breed {Encyc. ofAgr., § 6108.), 

 which are preferred here for butter, as the short-horns are about London 

 for milk. The field was a rising ground, and on the highest knoll, over- 

 looking great part of the surrounding country, stood an open shed formed 

 of brick pillars supporting a tiled roof in the form of a pyramid. The 

 proportions and situation of this simple building had a most agreeable effect 



