THE ROSHANAHA GARDENS 111 



ing crowds and perpetual clanging of tram bells, 

 and toil down several narrow, evil-smelling streets, 

 until at the end of one of them the old garden 

 entrance blocks the way. 



The prospect through the dark, tiled archway 

 is charming ; on either side large shady trees 

 shut in and concentrate the eye on the distant 

 view of the white pavilion, with its walls and 

 pillars half concealed in wreaths and festoons 

 of glowing purple bougainvillaea. Every detail 

 is reflected clearly in the placid dark-green water 

 of the long canal ; where the rose-bushes, lean- 

 ing over, soften the edges of its raised stone 

 border with their new-grown, red-brown shoots 

 and graceful flower-decked sprays. But once 

 inside the gateway the whole effect is spoilt by 

 the modern carriage drives and the loss of three 

 of the four canals. Green depressions mark the 

 course of two of them, while a third is lost in a 

 maze of ugly shapeless flower-beds and gravel- 

 paths. The trellis walks and old symbolic avenues 

 are gone — though one neglected path is still shaded 

 by a broken pergola of vines. On two sides the 

 garden walls are broken down ; the terraced walk 

 beside the water can hardly be distinguished ; and 

 the great tank beyond has lost its three pavilions. 



