1 with gardening. The fimpleft idea of a garden, is that of a spot embellished with a number of natural objects, trees, walks, polish'd parterres, flowers, ftreams, &c. One more complex comprehends statues and buildings, that nature and art may be mutually ornamental. A third approaching nearer perfection, is of objects affembled together, in order to produce, not only an emotion of beauty, effential to gardens of every kind, but also fome other particular emotion, grandeur, for example, gaiety, or any other of thofe above mentioned. The most perfect idea of a garden is an im2 provement upon the third, requiring the adjustment of the feveral parts, in fuch à manner as to infpire all the different emotions that can be raised by gardening. In this idea of a garden, the arrangement is an important circumftance '; for it has been shown, that some emotions figure best in conjunction, and that others ought always to appear in fucceffion and never in conjunction. I have had occasion to observe above*, that when the most oppofite emo * Chap. 8: tions, fuch as gloominefs and gaiety, ftill nefs and activity, follow each other in fucceffion, the pleasure on the whole will be the greatest; but that oppofite or diffimilar emotions ought not to be united, becaufe they produce an unpleasant mixture *. For that reason, a ruin, affording a fort of melancholy pleasure, ought not to be seen from a flower-parterre, which is gay and chear ful. But to pass immediately from an exhilerating object to a ruin, has a glo rious effect; for each of the emotions is. the more fenfibly felt by being contrasted with the other. Similar emotions, on the other hand, fuch as gaiety and sweetness, tillness and gloominess, motion and grandeur, ought to be raised together; for their effects upon the mind are greatly heightened by their conjunction †. - Kent's method of embellishing a field, is admirable. It is painting a It is painting a field with beautiful objects, natural and artificial, dif pofed like colours upon a canvas. It requires indeed more genius to paint in the Chap. 2. part 4. See the place immediately above cited, gardening 4 on a canvas, no more is required but to adjust the figures to each other: an artist who lays out ground in Kent's manner, has an additional task, which is to adjust his figures to the feveral varieties of the field, One garden must be diftinguished from a plurality; and yet it is not obvious wherein the unity of a garden confifts. A notion of unity is indeed fuggefted from viewing a garden furrounding a palace, with views from each window, and walks leading to every corner. But there may be a garden without a houfe. In this cafe, I muft pronounce, that what makes it one garden, is the unity of defign, every fingle spot appearing part of a whole. The gardens of Verfailles, properly expreffed in the plural number, being no fewer than fixteen, are indeed all of them connected with the palace, but have scarce any mutual connection they appear not like parts of one whole, but rather like fmall gardens in contiguity. Were thefe gardens at fome distance from each other, they would have a better effect. Their junction breeds con fufion fufion of ideas, and upon the whole gives lefs pleasure than would be felt in a flower fucceffion. Regularity is required in that part of a garden which joins the dwelling-houfe; for being confidered as a more immediate acceffory, it ought to partake the regularity of the principal object *. But in proportion to the distance from the house confidered as The influence of this connection furpaffing all bounds, is visible in many gardens, left in their original form of horizontal plains, forc'd with great labour and expence, perpendicular faces of earth fupported with maffy stone walls, terrace-walks in ftages one above another, regular ponds and canals without the leaft motion, and the whole fur rounded, like a prifon, with high walls excluding every external object. At first view it may puzzle one to account for a tafte running cross to nature in every particular. But nothing happens without a caufe. Perfect regularity and uniformity are required in a houfe; and this idea is extended to its acceffory the garden, efpecially if it be a fmall fpot incapable of grandeur or much variety. The house is regular, so muft the garden be: the floors of the house are horizontal, and the garden must have the fame position: in the house we are protected from every intruding eye, fo muft we be in the garden. This, it must be confeffed, is carrying the notion of refemblance very far. But where reafon and taste are laid asleep, nothing is more common than to carry refemblance beyond proper bounds. . the centre, regularity ought lefs and lefs to be ftudied. In an extenfive plan, it hath al fine effect to lead the mind infenfibly from regularity to a bold variety giving an impreffion of grandeur, And grandeur ought to be studied as much as poffible, even in a more confined plan, by avoiding a multiplicity of small parts *. Nothing contributes more to grandeur, than a right difpofition of trees. Let them be scattered extremely thin near the dwelling-house, and thickened in proportion to their distance: diftant eminences to be filled with trees, and laid open to view. A small garden, on the other hand, which admits not grandeur, ought to be strictly regular. 1 Milton, describing the garden of Eden, prefers justly the grand tafte to that of regularity. Flowers worthy of paradife, which not nice art * See chap. 4. The |