New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-05-01

N 10 ~ \
e feed my wild ducks, water NV carnations
happy enough il could extinguish my ambi-
tion quite, or indulge my desire of being some
thing more beneficial in my sphere
Shenstone's hardest trial was the nearnsss Of
Hagiey--it was the sonneteer living next Door
TO the epic poet. What was Virgi1's Grove com
pared with the Tinian Lawn, encircled by state
ly trees, 90 full Of leaf that no branch Or stem
was visi isibie--nothing but large undulating masses
Of foliage. How insignificant became ali rustic
ornament before the solitary urn, chosen by
Pope himself for the spot, afterwards inscribed
to his memory, and shown by rleam Of
moonlight through the trees' Whately touches
she autumnal beauty Of this scene with great
| sweetness g 1t is delightful to saunter here,
ana zee the grass and gossamer which entwine
~ y ghssenng with dew; to listen and hear no.
tning sur except, perhaps, withered leaf drop
ping gently through tree The exquisite
hnes Of Thomson are recalled by the imitation
for now the leaf
1ncasSant Fustiee from the rnouraful eroyN 50
or startling such sstudous walk below
by degrees, the influence of taste began TO
spread. Gardening, like criticism. was tauobt
by the poets. Kent attributes his skill IN Law
ing ont ground to the study Of Spenser. But
pictures helped him In Popels graceful letter
to Lord Burlington, he speaks Of
=z1 - Ksnt-w felt
The pencils power
Stowe and C1aremont we're celebrated by
Garth, Thomson, and Walpole: Esher, too, re-
ceived the praise of the learned poet, to whom
Kent was deeply indebted for fame and assist
ance ~
Pleased let me stray in Esferis peaceful grove.
"nsre Kent and nature vie for Pehem's love
Brown was another architect Of gardens, who
mas found q niche in poetry. Cooper regarded
ms desolating style with Indignation and con.
tempt:
He speaks the lake In front beeorus.s !. lawn
Woods vanish. hills subside aud valleys rtse
But he had good eye for particular effecf4
and his treatment of water at Blenheim was
admirable. ssI used to think it. was the IiveIv
Gaying of Walpole, some Of the ugIest njacss
in England; giants scastle who had laid waste
all the country round him." In the garden
scene, Brown showed his power; he was The re-
former of gravel-walks A friend of mine re-
minds me Of two other improvers of. gardens.
Mr.. Hamilton,w who shaped the beautiful grounds
at Payne's Hill; and the great Lord Chatham,
who In the esgerness of his temper designed
lawns by torch-light, and was so careless Of ex-
pense, that he spread the streams in the little
valleys of Kent and Middlesex into lakes, and
covered the hills of Somersetshire with cedars
that he sent from the nurseries of London. One
charm of an English garden is quite peculiar to
lt-freshness and beauty of turf Nfhe erass-
plot Is as much our own as the green hedge
Throughout Italy-with the single exception Of
Caserta-the bright English color is unknown.
Perhaps the quiet courts of our colleges present
the finest speciments of grass; and the meadows
behind Trinity and Glare are abundantly gay
and fruitful There Bantons the ss pad'' Of the
modern abbot
His sleek sides bathing in the dewy green
Happy is he in his labor and his rest. No COM
mission disturbs his stall. He cares not for
corn-law5, watched over by the benevolent eve
Of the Bursar; and in the warm twilight of a
June evening, it is very pleasant to hear him
leisurely pattering home under the dim avenue
of lines
The picturesque tourist in England NAV find
numerous pleasure grounds to reward his in
dustry 1t will be sufficient to specify the Chi
nese garden at Cassiobury, famous in Evelyn's
time, with conservatory and pagoda full of por-
ceiain, mandarins, paintings, and gold fish, all
set off by large tea-plants the antique flower
garden at Hatfield ,aLord Salisburys, with its
walks over -arched by clipped lime trees the
rock garden Of Lady Broughton, who spent
eight years in its composition, and of the late
MT wells, at Red Leaf, where Nature herself
is the most liberal and accomplished contributor.
The chief beauty Of White knights, now broken
up, arose from the display Of exotics, and the
variegated flush Of color.
One word on London gardens may not be I'M
interesting. No passage in the Task is more
familiar to poetic ears, than the description Of
the citizens delight in glimpse Of flowers on
his wall
The villas with which London stands hegirt
Like swsrth Indian with his belt OF beads
Prove it.
a garden in which nothing thrives has charms
Nc no soothe the rich possessor much consoled
That here and there some sprgs of niournfuI mint
Ur nightshade or valerian, grace the wall
He cutiVates. la' ....
But a great change has come over the London
gardens Since Cowper's day The late Mr..
Loudon drew attention to the costly plants often
found IN them. He gave this explanation The
gardens OF suburban streets are planted by spe-
culative builders, and chiefly from nursery
sales, which have been very frequent during the
last twenty or thirty years. 1t is the custom
at these auctions to mix rare with common
plants, that the former may sell the latter. In
tins way, the choicest specimens have found
their way into the grass-plots of cottage-yillas,
or the humber row. .
l have not spoken of the moral Influenza fof n
garden; but it is lively and lasting. Is there
not holy truth in the angels admonition to
Esdras (lI. tx 24-5,) &c Gointo field of flowers
where no house is builded, and eat onlv the
flowers of the field taste no flesh, drink NO
wine, but eat flowers only. And pray unto the
Highest continually-then will come and talk
with thee" Happy they who can create n
rose, or erect a honeysuckie.'' The I remerk marx is Is
dray's, and history furnishes touching testimo-
ny to its truth. When Hough visited Sancroft
IN Suffolk, he found him working in his garden;
' Almost all you see,' said the good Archbishop,
s Is the work of nay own hands, though 1 am
on eighty years of age. Ny old
woman does the wedding, and John mows the
urf and digs for me; but all the nicer work
he sowing, grating. budding, transplsntng,
Ind the hke-I trust to no other hand but my
'wn-so long. at least, as my health will allow
ne to enjoy so pleasing an occupations and in
good sooth, the fruits here taste more sweet,
md the flowers have richer perfume, than
hey had at lambeth" If Saneroft could have
oreseen the Task, he would have heard his voice
reflected in the writer's account of his own rus
lie labors:
-.t no works indeed,
That ask robust tough sinews bred to toll
Servile employ but such may anriss
Not tire, demanding rather skill than force
though mightier hand than Cowper's had
ong before, in magnificent history -piece, ex-
ibited the earliest gardeners of the world
eposing after their toll e
Under tuft of shade that on the green
Stood whispering soft, by a fresh fountain side
They sat them down and after no more toll
OF their sweet gardening labor than suifced
10 recommend cool zephyr, and made ease
More easy. ..
We have, in our gallery of literature, two
cry celebrated personages, who were always
onging for country seclusion, and at length
btained what they sought-Cowley and b.
ngbroke. Perhaps this wish was the only