Evening star., 1908-01-14

living creatures now far away from US
In their own solitude
What are we to think of those who
carry the dead lines and changeless tri-
umphs of the building and the studio into
the garden. which, above any other at
tificial creation. should give US the sweet
est and most wholesome fellowship
with nature?"
Simply that it is presumption and bad
taste. founded upon ignorance OF What
a true garden ought to be and OF
knowledge that the deadliest thlng you
can do with it is to introduce any tea
ture which. unlike the materials of oW
world designer. never changes. Away,
then. with the wretched affectaton of pre-
tending to enjoy-away with the ig-
norance which asserts or blindly believes
that there is some mysterious and occult
beauty in-or necessary for-Such gar
dens as this/
The Fountain.
In discussing this phase Of gardening
we have capital example in the case
of the Crystal Palace, in the region of
great fountain basins. where more nor
rid impression is received than In any
part of Versailles, though the upper
terrace at the palace illustrates the pest
features of the system and shows as
well as anything I know of in how far IL
may be safely adopted near great build
ing But both at the palace and YER
sailles the vast expanse for poor
theatrical effect is not the most regret
full of present features; that. perhaps
not to look deeply into the blemishes OF
such positions-is the dirty. wide. change
less water basins with their squirting
pipes and perhaps bubbling margins; TOT
the purse that creates such delights fre-
quently fails, if it does not get tired OF
expenditure that never produces
changeful beauty for which the heart OF
man yearns. To me there is nothing more
appalling than the walls. fountain basins,
clipped trees long canals. ETC., of such
place as Versailles, not only be-
cause they utterly fail to satisfy within
themselves, but inasmuch as they are
never accompanied by day,gnost ST. oi
wasted effort-of riches worse than loss.
In connection with the Crystal Palace
one thinks of ruined shareholders. and
with Versailles of the enormous sums
wrung from an oppressed people and put
to such a miserable use. that one can
scarcely regret wild blood dance of
revolution came and put end to 1t all
And this was the kind of good erected
with the money so hardly Wrung from
starving millions! 1t was merely burying
wealth-indeed, it might have been better
to have buried it. for many would prefer
the naked earth to these gyrations, which
must be kept in repair at great COST Tor
they become intolerable even TO thelr
builders and designers.
On the fountains and WaterWorks OF
Versailles skill and gold were lavished
by their creators. The Basin de Nep-
tune is the most important. AS the
waters only play on special occasions. and
as they cost about 1000 francs every time
they do play. one is justified in consider
ing the basins in their usual dormant
aspect Nothing can look more wretched
than any garden exhibiting large fountain
basins Early in the morning. of the
n1<b Of 7 Sfrni1ed around
this fountain basin. endeavoring to dis.
cover some beauty in 1t. Had 1t not
been for the fruits falling abundantly
from the horse chestnut groves close at
for fuel l should have imagined myself
in a dead world. The formality of the
surroundings. the moldering faded mar
gins and indescribable emptiness and ug-
some sphere of geometrical craters and
pools.
The Grand and the Petit Trianons are
simply two villas at the extremity of the
park. each with extensive gardens. Those
of the first mentioned are among the
most angular, ugly and cheerless it has
ever been my fortune to see-thcse of the
Petit Trianon by tar the best gardens
at or near Versailles. To pass into them
from these interm:nable gardens. where
the genius of LIE Notre'' has been so
successful in stealing from nature every
grace. is as refreshing as being suddenly
transferred from some gigantic cotton
opolis to a green and sunny Piedmontese
valley. 1t was the favorite residence of
Marie Antoinette. and the gardens were
in great part laid out by her in what
the French call the English or natural
style.
Trees in Tubs-Versailles.
A few words must be devoted to those
long lines of large orange trees in tubs
hot fbox,
force themselves upon our attention
There are many ignorant and hopeless
ways of spending money in gardens. that
few more so than this-indeed, it is one
Of the most familiar instances of un-
worthy outlay that is known. Consider
for a moment the enormous expense in
Cured by those lines of finally grown
old orange trees in the gardens of the
ruileries at Versailles. the Luxembourg
and in other gardens, public and private
Every one of them has cost more to rear
to a condition that is presentable than
the education of surgeon or barrister,
and all in order to produce q deep round
at the end of a black stem feet high
or thereabouts. Costly tubs that rot
periodically costly storing in large con-
seryatories in winter, costly carriage from
the house TO open garden and from
open garden to house. and all to no good
purpose whatever.
RuSkin.
Mr.. Ruskin tells us that change of va
riety is as much a necessity to the human
heart in buildings as in books: that there
is no merit, though there is some occa-
sional use in monotony, and that we must
no more expect to derive either pleasure
or profit from an architecture whose orna
ments are of one pattern than whose
pillars are of one proportion, than we
should out Of a universe in which the
clouds were all of one shape and the
trees all of one size. ,These words
apply to the public gardens with even
greater force.
Fontainebleau.
Fontainebleau is one of the many places
In France not likely to be remembered
with much pleasure for their gardens.
|TThe formaiity of the water and the ave-
nues and the lines of fusty clipped lime
trees render it impossible for the eye
to find in such place any of the solace
or charms OF the true garden. The por-
tion planted as an English garden" has,
indeed, some peace about it, but unhappily
the strictest formality governs every line