English Gardens 
A DOUBLE-BORDERED PATH 
and about the house, and yet valued the freer and more natural 
possibilities which were unaffected by the immediate proximity 
of architecture. He deprecated the imitation of nature and 
made a strong plea for retaining “ art,” by which he meant any¬ 
thing of a formal or studied nature. Simplicity, convenience, 
seclusion were among his chief aims, and it is characteristic of 
the Englishman, that, in enumerating the things which require 
consideration when planning the grounds, he named economy 
first. By this he would include not merely making the plan 
on such a scale that the owner could afford to lay it out, but 
he would consider also the cost of maintenance, and still fur¬ 
ther, the arrangement of the place so that the maintenance 
could be done with economy. This is a matter of great im¬ 
portance, and to its just consideration is due to a large extent 
the number and beauty of the English gardens. As a rule 
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