New-York tribune., 1908-02-22
LONDONS BEAUTY. :
Hoo She Is Increasing Her Breath
ing Spaces.

Hon Mrs. Evelyn Cecil (Aicia Amherst With
PIP. 3Si Z. T. Dutton CO.
Mrs Cecil has shown a keen appreciation Of
her captivating subject and has known how to
communicate its zest TO her readers in no small
degree. The parks and gardens of which she
writes have multitude of historical assoeia-
tions and she dwells with equal spirit and taste
these and the Irresistible charm of the
glimpses of nature found in surprising number
amid and around the masses of stone. brick and
mortar which form the greatest city in the
world. 1t has always been d city of gardens,
she tells US, and if many of these spaces OF
beauty and health have passed into the hands
Of the builder, enough survive to stir to envy
and emulation the inhabitants of less enlght-
ened capitals.
The earliest London gardens were those at
tached to the religious houses. and most OF
them were swept away with the buildings they
adorned in the days of Henry VIII OF these
the fascinating Temple garden remains-the gar
den in which Shakespeare set the wrangle winch
began the Wars of the Roses. And there is the
ancient garden at Westminster wherein healing
herbs We're grown for the infirmary of the
monks, and which is still nook of peaceful
ereenery though the herbs have vanished
About the palaces of the mobiles in those far-oH
days were beautiful gardens Of flowers ana
fruit and the humber householders as well had
their Enclosures bright with bloom Among the
most famous of the gardens in the thirteenth
century says one author, was the Earl OF LIN
coins Minute accounts of the expenses OF TINS
garden are preserved in the Manor Roll, and
very fairly accurate picture of what it was can
be pieced together. The chief flowers in it were
roses and the choicest to be found at that date
the sweet-scented, double red Rosa gallica,
would be in profuson. 1t might be that in the
shady corners Of the garden periwinkle traled
upon the ground and violets perfumed the air.
White Madonna lilies reared their stately heads
among the Glove pirks, lavender and thyme.
Peouies columbines hollyhocks honeysuckles,
corncockles and iris. white, purple and yellow.
made no mean show. The orchard could boast
Of many kinds Of pears and apples, cherries
and nuts 4 piece of water. described as the
Greater ditch formed the fish stew where pike
were kept and artifcally fed. Besides all this
there was q considerable vineyard. Strong
v.oodar Dalings inclosed this garden. In the
Risbop Of Elys vineyard, adjoining the earls
garden the grapes were made into wine. Some
of the first potatoes known in England We're
grown in London
The charters on the parks OF the city are full
Of picturesque recitals. Through what is now
FTvGe Park Henry VIII and his daughter Eliza
beth rode a-hunting; in later days the Round
heads raised forts and dug trenches lhefe'
l,o,,v-eu galloping round the Ring, pur-
eued by man with intent to murder-and on
arotber occasion the Protectors pair of wild
t,-iasland horses ran away and he was thrown
- the ground his pistol going off in his pocket
E,v-citiney events Of another kind sometimes hap
,,a,7aa rbere:-''dind, a famous highWayman, Tor
= wager rode into the Ring and robbed coach
~ = bag Of money. He was hotIy pursued
across the park but made his escape, riding py
c. Taroes's' which then. and until much
later. date was sanctuary, and no one except
a traitor could be arrested within it so narrow
-, escana from Justice did he have that he is
cold to have exclaimed: / never earned tIVo
ca dear in all my Iifen" A tragic period for
this park was that of the Great Plague when
tre soldiers ercamped there died in despair
nd F,ar, WAS long a dueiling ground, and
ono Of IFS encounters was that famous and fatal
- 5aecrihed in ''EsInond.' No flowers were
crown in this park until about 1860, and then
the aborrinable system OF carpet bedolhg was
introduced Nowadays more natural and grace
.,l methods are followed, and there are fe"er
fouar beds. Flowers, indeed are only a
email mart Of the lovelness of Hyde Park or
& James's and Green parks. OF Regents PARK
"a Greenwich Park;-the turf. dapp!ed with
s,,, and shadow. and the trees are their Slorles.
= must not be forgotten that London gardeners
-, ,,,..b "a fight against in the terrible fogs,
-,r.+e5 with coal smoke, which poison plants
and trees. The smoke from the electric power
stations is sadly destructive II kills off even
haaIthv Young shrubs and bushes, such as
Isurels-.-in very short time they become
c,ror,lerelv dried up. brown and shriVeiied' The
ro-,ioners themselves have long condoned the
nuisance one author quotes as follows from
tho account OF a French traveller who in 1862
was Mortified al the fog ana amazed at the
English disregard q it:
Jhe smoke forms a cloud which enTeioTs Lon
5a- like a mantle q cloud when The sun pc
I5rrs but rarely q cloud which, recoiIing back
,rDau itself suffers the 10 break out of!y NJ"
aud then. whcn casual appearance pToCures tle
ioudGnerS feN CT what they call gi0f1ons "aBs
me great love Of the English Tor walking detles
me badness Of other days. On the z6tl OF April
81 {ames's Park, necessarily covered with logs
smoke and ram that scarce left possibility OF
Distinguishing objects at distance OF fouf steps
vas flled with walkers who were an object or
nusing and admiration 10 Ee during tie Nh"ie
day
It is d pleasure to note that London pos