72 
LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
disposed, either in straight avenues crossing each other, or 
clumped in the form of circles, stars, squares, etc. ; and long 
vistas were obtained through the avenues divaricating from 
the house in various directions, over level surfaces. One of 
the favourite fancies of the geometric gardener, was the La- 
byrinth, (fig. 14,) of which a few celebrated examples are still 
in existence in England, and which consisted of a multitude 
of trees thickly planted in impervious hedges, covering some- 
times several acres of ground. These labyrinths were the 
source of much amusement to the family and guests, the trial 
of skill being to find the centre, and from that point to re- 
turn again without assistance ; and we are told by a historian 
of the garden of that period, that “ the stranger having once 
entered, was sorely puzzled to get out.” 
[Fig. 14. A Labyrinth.] 
Since the days when these gardens were in their glory the 
taste in Landscape Gardening has undergone a great change. 
The graceful, and the picturesque, are the new elements 
of beauty, which, entering into the composition of our 
gardens and home landscapes, have, to refined minds, in- 
creased a hundred fold the enjoyment derived from this spe- 
cies of rural scenery. Still, there is much to admire in the 
ancient style. Its long and majestic avenues, the wide- 
