VARIOUS GARDENS 



among the English dukeries — all these enchant- 

 ingly enclosed and giving a series of delightful 

 surprises; and last, a remarkable pergola at the 

 back of all the gardens and bounding their whole 

 length. This, very high, was so well pl-oportioned 

 that to look either at or through it gave instant 

 pleasure. At the moment, too, all of its great 

 rose- vines carried but bare stems. In this gar- 

 den one had everywhere the sense of proportions 

 finely maintained. The use of dwarf fruit-trees 

 and of espaliers; of box, of privet, and of poplar 

 in hedging; of slight but effective bits of terra 

 cotta, marble, and stone now and again in these 

 gardens, was exceedingly good. Indeed, a few 

 pieces of bright Italian faience made one spot in 

 the garden "si gai et si coquette" that the bright- 

 ness of summer itself seemed to be caught and 

 held there for the further beauty of that autumn 

 day. 



Is there not true and tranquil beauty in the 

 picture of one of these gardens ? — June, with some 

 late foxgloves just overlapping the first delphin- 

 iums; and the cleverest introduction of the two 

 dogs into the picture, quite unconscious that they 

 are the living repetitions of those lions cut in 

 stone! 



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