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Dull uniformity, contrivance quaint,

Or labour'd littleness; but contrasts broad,
And careless lines, whose undulating forms
Play thro' the varied canvass: these transplant
Again on Nature; take thy plastic spade,
It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colours; and by these repay
With interest every charm she lent thy art.
Book i. 1. 264.

In thus reviewing the two systems of embellishing grounds which have prevailed in this country, and to which we have been led by the remarks of the anonymous translator of De Lille, it is by no means our wish to deny, that the eulogistic notice of Brown with which these remarks conclude, or the still more laudatory tribute of the poet of the English Garden, was not, in many instances, justly merited. He whom Whately and Mason admired, could not be an ordinary man, and, in fact, Brown possessed much of the "fairy" fancy of the genuine bard; but notwithstanding all his devotion to, and enthusiasm for, nature, he ultimately became too fond of dictating to her in an arbitrary manner, and of tricking her out in a style too uni

formly limited and refined; nor could the gentlemen we have just mentioned have formed any idea of the enormous extent to which, through the medium of insulated clumping, and circular belting, these defects were to be exaggerated and carried by a swarm of tasteless disciples; for it is evident from the writings of both, and especially from the extract just given from Mason, that in their contemplation the only legitimate mode of improving nature was to be derived from sources which forbade all littleness, circumscription, and obtrusive uniformity. It has been thought necessary to add thus much in relation to this once fashionable director of landscape gardening, as he has continued to be, even to the present day, a subject for indiscriminate censure, or too lavish praise.

After these preliminary, though somewhat copious, and, perhaps, rather digressional, observations on the progress and manner of embellishing grounds in England, but which the very nature of the subject almost forced upon us, let us again turn a more undivided attention towards the earliest effort which was made to naturalise in this country the noblest production

on the art of which the continent can boast. Much and deservedly as the English Garden of Mason has been praised for the justness of its precepts, and the beauty of its execution, for the purity of its taste, and the general simplicity of its style, the extracts we are about to give from the forgotten version of the French bard, if they do but bear out the character we have ventured to assign them, will sufficiently prove to the English reader, that in these respects the sister poem of De Lille is little, if at all, inferior, whilst in variety and richness of illustration, it is certainly more abundant.

These encomia, however, let it be recollected, can only apply, as far as the version is concerned, to the selections which we shall make from its pages, and that, as a whole, the translation has no pretensions to the praise which is due to the singular beauty and spirit with which some of its parts have been finished.

In the ensuing number, therefore, after a few brief remarks on the subject matter of the first book of "Les Jardins," we shall commence our series of quotations, taking care in every instance,

and in the first place, to cite the original, that those who are acquainted with the French language, may have an opportunity of judging not only of the merits of the extracts as English poetry, but of their fidelity as translations.

No. V.

Here strive for empire, o'er the happy scene,
The nymphs of fountain, sea, and woodland green;
The power of grace and beauty holds the prize
Suspended even to her votaries,

And finds amazed, where'er she casts her eye,
Their contest forms the matchless harmony.

PAULUS SILENTARIUS, apud Bland.

THE first book of the Gardens of De Lille is principally occupied in teaching how to borrow and combine with the happiest skill and effect, the richest materials of picturesque beauty; how best, in fact, to convert the scene to be embellished into a perfect and appropriate and harmonious whole; by consulting beyond all things the genius of the place, and so adapting the operations of art to the peculiarities of the site, as to hide its defects, and call forth all its advantages; a subject which naturally leads to a consideration of the different species of landscapes and of gardens.

After a few preliminary lines, in which the

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