Kent also had a great reputation as a horticulturist, and was generally
designated, at the end of last century, as the "Father of Modern
Gardening"--his ghastly progeny consisting of the destructive and
desolating "landscape-gardening" enterprises of "Capability Brown,"
Repton, and their followers. His hand doubtless fell heavy on the old
Queen Anne formal gardens about Kensington Palace. We can see the
influence of his taste, which was followed with enthusiasm by Queen
Caroline and her gardener Bridgman, in the barrenness and commonplace
appearance of the grounds that lie immediately below in front of us, as
we look out of the windows of this room, and in the entire absence of
planting or gardening in the large expanse surrounding the "Round Pond."
This =Round Pond=, or "=the Basin=" as it used to be called, is, by the
bye, not round at all, but of a geometrical figure, more of an oval form
than circular, and with the four sides flattened and the intermediate
portions of the circumference bent into "ogees." In thus shaping this
basin the designer, whether Kent or Bridgman, has overstepped artistic
discretion; for from no point of view, neither in Kensington Gardens,
from the ground beside it, nor even from this window is its real shape
to be made out--only from Rocque's plan or bird's-eye view, of 1736, can
it be seen to be so eccentric.
The distant =view=, however, beyond the private gardens, across the
Round Pond and Kensington Gardens, over grassy slopes and ancient trees
to Hyde Park, a mile away, is one of the pleasantest in the metropolis.
Not a street, not a road, not a house, not a roof is to be seen. In the
spring and early summer, when the foliage is fresh and green, one might
imagine oneself in the depths of the country, in some old house
overlooking midland pastures and woods.
West's Pictures in the King's Drawing Room.
In this room are hung the paintings of West, all of which were executed
for George III., who greatly admired them, and extended to him a most
liberal patronage. He was equally in favour with the public, who lauded
his performances to the skies, and with his fellow-artists, who made him
President of the Royal Academy. We now hardly know which to wonder at
most--an obscure lad in the wilds of Pennsylvania, who took his earliest
lessons in painting from a tribe of Cherokees, accomplishing what he
did; or the English fetish, Public Opinion, having been so deluded as to
regard his efforts as masterpieces of Art. The depreciation which has
overtaken him may be judged when we hear that an "Annunciation," for
which £800 was originally paid, was knocked down in 1840 for £10! His
portraits, nevertheless, are interesting.