472 Domestic Notices : — England. 



seizing and carrying off the cattle of the settlers, was at last caught, and 

 among his papers was found a memorandum of flower-seeds which he 

 wished to obtain for his garden. Had this man, before he left England, 

 been in circumstances that had placed him above temptation, there can be 

 no doubt but that he would have been a lover of horticulture, and a good 

 man. And here, though it may be considered a deviation from the sub- 

 ject, we cannot help observing on the admirable fitness of the cooperative 

 system, when mankind shall become in a meet state for adopting it, for de- 

 stroying all temptation to crime, and calling forth only, or chiefly, the bene- 

 volent feelings of human nature. But we had almost forgotten our sub- 

 ject, and must return to the garden, for the sake of noticing that a great 

 improvement has been made in it, by laying down the flower-garden with 

 grass seeds for turf, and varying the surface by groups. This will dimi- 

 nish the labour of keeping, afford pleasanter walks, and be more agreeable 

 to the eye. As to improving the garden in a scientific point of view, that 

 is next to impossible ; the whole, as we have often said, would need to be 

 remodelled. 



The " magnificent Triumphal Arch" erected at the west end of Picca- 

 dilly, and intended as a gateway to the palace gardens at Pimlico, has 

 lately been made a public entrance to the carriage-road leading tq^St. 

 James's Park and Whitehall, and the apartments intended for "-"the 

 keeper have been turned into a station-house for the police. " Sic transit 

 gloria mundi !" The immense reservoir, which we have before (Vol. VII. 

 p. 99.) spoken of, is planted out by large evergreens, and may now be 

 reckoned not only useless in reality, but without even the appearance of 

 either ornament or utility. Both the pond and the arch, with its gorgeous 

 bronzed gates, we consider as monuments of the folly and extravagance of 

 the government under which they were executed, and of the bad taste of 

 the architects who designed them. The bronzed railing to the Duke of 

 Wellington's house opposite* is another instance of extreme bad taste ; as 

 is also the marble triumphal arch in the front of Pimlico Palace. We 

 shall show at once that we are correct in asserting this, by recurring to 

 first principles, caring nothing for the authorities that may be found for 

 placing similar arches and railings in similar situations. Every thing must 

 be brought to the test of principle, otherwise there can be no solid found- 

 ation for right and wrong. Good taste is nothing more than sound sense 

 applied to matters appertaining to ornament and luxury. One of the first 

 principles of sound sense or good taste is order, or that disposition of 

 things which, by their being seen one after another in succession* contri- 

 butes to the grand end or purpose in view. Now, one of the first principles 

 of order is to proceed in regular gradation from less to greater, or from 

 greater to less. Without this, it is evident there can be no order ; for, 

 unless there be a reason for what was to go before, or come after, any par- 

 ticular point in the series, the result must necessarily be confusion. To 

 apply the principle of gradation to the external and internal ornaments of 

 a house, we should say that an ascending series is required from the orna- 

 ments on the exterior walls and fences to those on the furniture and finish- 

 ing of the hall, staircase, and rooms within. Now, taking the highly 

 enriched bronzed railing of the Duke of Wellington's boundary fence as 

 the lowest point in the scale of ornament, the rails for his staircase ought 

 to be of gold and filigree work ; and for his grates, fenders* and fire-irons, 

 no metal that we know of would be sufficiently preciousi Apply the same rea- 

 soning to the marble triumphal arch at Pimlico,andwhat shall we find costly 

 enough for the chimney-pieces of rooms of the palace to which it belongs ? 

 We say nothing of the unsuitableness of such materials, and such a style 

 of ornament, to our climate, but have merely confined ourselves to the prin- 

 ciple or order or gradation. The Duke of Wellington's gorgeous railing, and 

 his meagre, clumsy, and paltry-looking outside Venetian blinds of unpainted 



