SOUTH-WEST LONDON 269 



wooded wilderness always in sight ; many acres 

 of noble trees — oak, ash, elm, beech, hornbeam, 

 and Spanish chestnut ; a shady paradise, the 

 old trunks draped with ivy, or grey and emerald 

 green with moss ; masses of bramble and brier, 

 furze and holly, growing untouched beneath ; 

 the open green spaces a sea of blue in spring 

 wdth the enchanting blue of the wild hyacinth. 

 There was not anywhere on the borders of 

 London — that weary circuit of fifty miles — so 

 fresh and perfect a transcript of wild woodland 

 nature as this, with the sole exception of Lord 

 Mansfield's private grounds at Hampstead. 



Unhappily j ust before the announcement 

 was made early in 1898 that the Queen had 

 graciously decided to admit the public to this 

 lovely ground, a gang of labourers was sent in 

 to grub up the i^ndergrowth, to lop ofi" lower 

 branches, and cut down many scores of the 

 noblest old trees, with the object apparently of 

 bringing the place more into harmony with the 

 adjoining trim gardens. It is earnestlj^ to be 

 hoped that nothing further will be done to ruin 

 the most perfect beauty-spot that remains to 

 London. 



Here our survey ends. 



