THE SOCIAL SIDE OF GARDENS 
son’s hospitality to that brilliant group to whom 
conversation was an absolute necessity, and who per¬ 
fected their phrases with all the fervor of an artist’s 
devotion to his art. There sat Walpole, his bitter wit 
etching the absent for the laughter of the present; Gay, 
the dreamer, somehow slipped into the most comfortable 
chair; Swift, who has been commending Pope upon the 
subterranean passage from the house into the garden, 
berating Gay for laziness, Bolingbroke for levity, and 
man in general for existing. The long shadows stretch 
across the lawns that rise gently to the house, and every 
inch of the garden shows its master’s personal care. 
Pope loved this place with real passion, spending much 
money and more time upon it; indeed, several of his 
friends in their letters bewail his becoming “ a true coun¬ 
try gentleman, and seen no more in town.” 
To-day, the use of the garden is far more generally 
understood abroad than here in America. England is 
perhaps preeminent in this direction, and it is beyond 
dispute that there is a charm and simplicity to country- 
house entertaining there which is attained nowhere else. 
Its careful carelessness is among the most delightful of 
modern achievements, the tact with which personal 
freedom is mingled with the social duty of hostess and 
guest touching upon perfection. It is the garden, 
rather than the house, that gives the key-note. 
The most charming part of the day is the tea hour 
on the terrace, or near the tennis-courts, when every 
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