74 THE PLEASURE, OR [Jaw. 
or lines of dwarf-box, Sec. or by verges of grass-turf, and tracks of 
sand, fine gravel, shell, and scroll-work, &c. 
These works were in great estimation in ancient gardening, and 
were commonly situated, directly in front Of the house, generally 
the whole width of the front, or sometimes more. 
The general figure of a parterre, is an oblong or long square; 
because by the rules of Perspective, or the natural declension of the 
visual rays in optics, a long square sinks almost to a square, and 
an exact square appears much less so than it really is, when 
viewed at a distance; therefore parterres were generally made 
twice as long as broad. 
These were bounded by a long bed, or border of earth, and the 
internal space within, divided into various little partitions, or enclo- 
sures, artfully disposed into different figures, corresponding with 
one another, such as long squares, triangles, circles, various scroll- 
works, flourishes of embroidery, and many other fanciful devices; 
all of which figures were edged with dwarf-box, &c. with interven- 
ing alleys of turf, fine sand, shells, Sec. 
The partitions or beds were planted with the choicest kinds of 
flowers; but no large plants, to hide the different figures, for such 
were intended as a decoration for the whole place, long after the 
season of the flowers was past. 
Though parterres in general are now become rather unfashion- 
able, a little of that kind of work might still be permitted for varie- 
ty sake, though not immediately in front of the house as heretofore. 
A spacious lawn, bounded with rural shrubberies, is the most 
eligible situation for such; but a plain parterre of a moderate ex- 
tent, either formed with lines of box, or with turf, might be intro- 
duced in some of the more internal parts, and distributed either 
into plain or complex departments, or beds of earth for flowers, so 
as to answer the purpose of a flower-garden, for the most curious 
sorts; it Will have an agreeable effect in forming a contrast with the 
more rural scenes. 
In the more interior parts, large tracts of ground were frequent- 
ly divided by straight grass-walks, into many square and angular 
divisions of wilderness, each division surrounded by regular hedges 
of various kinds of trees and shrubs, kept in uniform order by 
annual clippings; having the interior part of each quarter planted 
with trees and shrubs, which were in a manner concealed by the 
hedges from persons in the adjacent walks, so that hardly any thing 
but close hedges, the same thing over again, appeared to view, on 
each side of the walks; and all the walks generally led into uniform 
openings of grass, particularly to a grand circle or octagon, forming 
some central part. 
Frequently there were partitions of regular hedge-work, particu- 
larly of ever-greens, surrounding large squares of grass-ground, 
designed as pieces of garden ornaments; the hedge-work being 
often formed into various uniform devices; such as pilasters, ar- 
cades or arches, porticoes, galleries, amphitheatres, pavilions, cabi- 
nets, bowers, pediments, niches, and cornices; likewise regular ar- 
