BAGSHOT PARK 39 



pattern beds with box edgings in the Italian style, and is 

 ornamented with a fountain, statues, seats and several beautiful 

 old lead cisterns filled with flowering herbs. In plan, the 

 great terrace has two straight wings parallel to the front 

 line of the mansion, with a grandly bold semicircular pro- 

 jection in the middle. From this a very handsome double 

 flight of steps leads down to the path described before. 



On the south of this path, facing the terrace across 

 a large expanse of beautiful turf, there is a magnificent 

 antique statue in porphyry, far larger than life-size, of Pallas 

 Athene. This, of course, is an absolutely unique feature, 

 and is of overwhelming interest. Behind this superb statue 

 a yew hedge acts as a background to flowers and as a fence 

 between garden and park. The lawn is also enclosed on 

 east and west sides by hedges with flower borders in front 

 of them ; and both its two corners furthest from the terrace 

 are furnished with large quarter circular seats of white wood. 



At the east end of the main terrace, steps lead down to a 

 straight path across part of the lawn containing the Spiral 

 Garden. This path terminates in the Diamond Garden, 

 described in Chapter XI. Beyond the west end of the 

 terrace there was until recently a large tennis lawn, but 

 since the enclosure of the still larger expanse of turf in front 

 of the house, an Italian water garden has been made on its 

 site. Beyond this again the garden westwards mainly con- 

 sists of lovely stretches of turf sloping up to the hill before 

 mentioned, with many rare and beautiful specimen trees, 

 exquisite groups of flowering shrubs and forest trees in 

 countless variety. As it extends in this direction it becomes 

 more and more wild in character, until at last it merges 

 almost insensibly into the natural woodland around. This 

 part of the garden has been greatly improved lately by judi- 

 cious clearing of overgrown and common shrubs, and planting 

 masses of choice azaleas and many other varieties. And every- 

 thing has been carried out with such skill and knowledge 

 that the sought for effect of cultivated wildness has been 

 most successfully attained. 



