XV 111 



PREFACE. 



Such a mixture so sanctioned, ap- 

 pears to have such obvious and superior 

 claims over any narrow system of ex- 

 clusion, that it is hard to conceive 4*o\v 

 a system of that kind could long prevail 

 among men of liberal and highly cultivated, 

 minds ; yet no one can doubt the fact, who 

 considers the almost universal admiration 

 with which the exclusive display of smooth- 

 ness, serpentine lines, &c. in our gardens 

 and grounds has been viewed for more than 

 half a century : I believe, indeed, that there 

 are scarcely any bounds to the sort of ido- 

 latry which prevailed, and still prevails on 

 that subject. English gardening has been 

 considered as an object of high and pecu- 

 liar national pride ; it has been celebrated, 

 together with its chief professor, by some 

 of the most eminent writers of this age, in 

 prose and in verse ; and marbles with in- 



