to distinguish those places from the mere barbarous countries of 
gross nature, the world stands much in need of a virtuoso gardener 
who has a turn to sculpture, and is thereby capable of improving upon 
the ancients of his profession in the imagery of evergreens. My cor- 
respondent is arrived to such perfection, that he cuts family pieces of 
men, women, or children. Any ladies that please may have their own 
effigies in myrtle, or their husbands in hornbeam. He is a Puritan 
wag, and never fails when he shows his garden to repeat that passage 
in the Psalms : ' Thy wife shall be as the fruitful vine, and thy children 
as olive branches round thy table.' I shall proceed to his catalogue, 
as he sent it for my recommendation : 
"Adam and Eve in yew; Adam a little shattered by the fall of the 
tree of knowledge in the great storm; Eve and the Serpent very flour- 
ishing. 
"The Tower of Babel, not yet finished. 
"St. George in box; his arms scarce long enough, but will be 
in condition to stick the dragon by next April. 
"A green dragon of the same, with a tail of ground-ivy for the 
present. 
"N.B. These two not to be sold separately. 
"Edward the Black Prince in cypress. 
"A laurustine bear in blossom, with a juniper hunter in berries. 
"A pair of giants, stunted, to be sold cheap. 
"A queen Elizabeth in phylyraea, a little inclining to the green- 
sickness, but full of growth. 
"Another queen Elizabeth in myrtle, which was very forward, 
but miscarried by being too near a savin. 
"An old maid of honor in wormwood. 
"A topping Ben Jonson in laurel. 
"Divers eminent modern poets in bays, somewhat blighted, to be 
disposed of, a pennyworth. 
"A quickset hog, shot up into a porcupine, by its being forgot a 
week in rainy weather. 
"A lavender pig with sage growing in his belly. 
"Noah's ark in holly, standing on the mount; the ribs a little 
damaged for want of water.' " 
