122 THE PARKS AND GARDENS OF PARIS. [Chap. VIII. 



any of our public gardens, more beautiful and effective than even 

 our small squares could be made ; but little can be done so long 

 as the absurd system of cutting off the scene from public view, 

 and from the view of the persons who inhabit the square, prevails. 

 There are squares in London in which views, almost Arcadian in 

 their beauty, could be made; yet, except from the windows of 

 the houses that surround them, one can See nothing but a struggle 

 between Privet and Lilac. Two of the finest weeping Ash-trees 

 in London are near the margin of Brunswick Square, but they 

 are so surrounded by the usual mean scrub that they are rarely 

 recognized by the passer-by. Cleared around and surrounded by 

 well-kept turf, they would prove ornaments to the whole district. 

 But it may be urged that the squares are private property, and 

 that their owners have a perfect right to keep them shut out 

 from public view, if so disposed. Even so, it is quite possible 

 to do this without making the margin inviting as a receptacle for 

 miscellaneous rubbish, and without concealing the finest objects 

 the squares contain. 



By allowing the grass to venture near the railing here and 

 there, and dotting it with flowers and isolated shrubs, so as to 

 permit of pleasant peeps into the interior, quite a new aspect 

 would be given to our now gloomy squares, and the change would 

 not by any means destroy privacy. No conceivable harm could 

 come of making these little gardens attractive to the public, and 

 in doing so, to those having " vested rights " also. There can be 

 little doubt that if we could drop the Square Montrouge into our 

 West Central district, there would soon be a general desire on 

 the part of the owners of our squares that they should be disposed 

 in like manner. In that small, much-frequented square, may be 

 seen plants in masses in the open air as valuable as those exposed 

 in our great public gardens here, and that without the least 

 danger, though crowds frequent the place from morning till after 

 dusk. 



Another important feature of the arrangement of our squares 

 and one which, like the filthy and crowded marginal shrubbery 

 is common to nearly all of them, is the disposition of the central 

 portion. The ground is usually so small that it is desirable to 

 make the most of it. The best way to make it look mean and 

 contracted is to build a structure varying in appearance from 



