H ouse and Garden 
seem vulgar and villa-ish. When Bacon was cen¬ 
suring such “toys,” they were rather coming into 
fashion, nor did his vindication of true taste suppress 
the use of such artihces. Bacon liked not the ton- 
sorial art, images cut out in juniper or other garden 
stuff. “ 1 hey are for children.” Fountains are a 
great beauty, hut the water is never to become stag¬ 
nant. And what a delightful spot is the Heath with 
its natural wildness, wherein grow the sweetbriar, 
honeysuckle and wild vine, the ground set with vio¬ 
lets, strawberries and primroses. And how beautiful 
are the mounds set with wild thyme, pinks, ger¬ 
mander, periwinkles, violets, cowslips, daisies, red 
roses, lilium convallium and sweet-williams. 
Here is a copy of Bacon’s Sylva Sylvarum, giving 
an account of his numerous experiments in horticul¬ 
ture, and we are struck by his minute and affectionate 
attention to all the details of the garden, and his wide 
sympathy with the beauties and wonders of Nature. 
^ ou have in your hand the “Diary” of the learned 
Evelyn. See how lovingly he described the gardens 
which he visited both at home and abroad. The 
palace-gardens of Genoa, with their wonderful reser¬ 
voirs of water, their grottoes and statuary, oranges, 
citrons, pomegranates and fountains astonish him 
JOHN EVELYN, FROM THE “DIARY” 
132 
greatly, and the strange devices at Frascati, Cardinal 
Aldobrandini’s villa—where he saw “an artificial 
grotto wherein are curious rocks, hydraulic organs, 
and all sorts of singing birds moving and chirping 
by force of the water, with several other pageants 
and surprising inventions.” In the centre of one 
of the rooms he saw “ a copper ball that continually 
daunces about 3 foote above the pavement by virtue 
of a wind conveyed secretly to a hole beneath it; 
with many other devices to wett the unwary spec¬ 
tators, so that one can hardly step without wetting 
to the skin. In one of these theatres of water is an 
Atlas spouting up the streame to a very great height; 
and another monster makes a terrible roaring with 
an horn; hut above all, the representation of a storm 
is most naturall, with such fury of raine, wind and 
thunder as one would imagine oneself in some ex- 
treame tempest. The garden has excellent walks 
and shady groves, abundance of rare fruit, oranges, 
lemons, etc., and the goodly prospect of Rome, 
above all description, so as I do not wonder that 
Cicero and others have celebrated the place with 
such encomiums.” 
Evelyn introduced to England “The French Gar¬ 
dener” in an English dress in 1658. It is a very 
JOHN MILTON 
( 
