which at first sight appear most impracticable, may be obtained even
amongst the common dispositions of English nature; and the great might
thus have pleasure-grounds, extensive and extraordinary as those of the
East, without any very considerable expence: men of less note would
naturally imitate their superiors, by embellishing their possessions in
the same manner; and instead of spending large sums to fence and to lard
a little field with twigs, to give it the name of a Garden, they would
beautify their whole estate; which, by a proper attention to the
[oe]conomical precepts of our Chinese Gardeners, might be done in such a
manner as to encrease its value, as well as improve its appearance.
By these means this whole kingdom might soon become one magnificent vast
Garden, bounded only by the sea; the many noble seats and villas with
which it abounds, would give uncommon consequence to the scenery; and it
might still be rendered more splendid, if, instead of disfiguring your
churches with monuments, our Chinese manner of erecting mausoleums by
the sides of the roads was introduced amongst you; and if all your
public bridges were adorned with triumphal arches, rostral pillars,
bas-reliefs, statues, and other indications of victory, and glorious
atchievements in war: an empire transformed into a splendid Garden, with
the imperial mansion towering on an eminence in the center,[23] and the
palaces of the nobles scattered like pleasure-pavilions amongst the
plantations, infinitely surpasses any thing that even the Chinese ever
attempted: yet vast as the design appears, the execution is certainly
within your reach.
Such, as far as I am able to judge, continued our Orator, is the true
application of nature to horticulture; perhaps the only one that can be
attempted with success: wherever she is made in little, or introduced
upon a confined plan, the effect is always trifling and bad, as will
appear to any man of real taste, who inspects the artificial scenery
even of your most approved gardens: Nature admits of no reduction in
her dimensions; trees will not grow in miniature; nor are her bold
movements to be expressed upon the surface of a few acres: and not to
mention any of your performances, it is scarcely in the power of the
most consummate art, to imitate nature perfectly; nor were it possible,
could the most skilful arrangements acquire their true effect, till
after the expiration of many years: our children may see the perfection
of what we plant; we never can.
Our eastern artists, therefore, seldom attempt to create, but rather
imitate the tonsor, the habit-maker, the posture-master, and all the
other polishers of man; who dispose, decorate, cleanse, clip, and add
grace to what is already formed to their hands: to make nature, they
say, is tedious and difficult beyond conception; but she may soon be
embellished, her redundancys suppressed, her faults corrected, her wants
supplied, her beauties improved, and set to view.
The truth of these assertions is, I think, apparent in many of your
famous plantations; but the beauties of improved natural scenery, the
defects of artificial, are no where so strongly marked as at B----m, the
most magnificent seat I have yet seen in Europe. On our entrance into
the Park, we were astonished at the sight of a stupendous palace,
surrounded with one of the noblest scenes of nature that can be
imagined; the extent is vast, the parts uncommonly large, the grounds
naturally well contrasted, the transitions bold, the plantations in
perfect maturity: what assistance was necessary from art, has hitherto
been judiciously administered; the removal of some trees, has exposed to
view beauties that seem before to have been concealed; the addition of
some others, has enriched parts that were bare; and the trifling, though
very judicious circumstance of raising a head at the end of a valley,
has obtained a very considerable lake of water, which enriches and
enlivens all the prospects; and which, by following the natural bent or
windings of the valley, has taken, without any assistance from art, the
most picturesque forms that could be desired: in short, the whole is now
admirable; and, when improved to the utmost, according to the design of
the munificent owner, will yet be more so. Ornaments to characterize
the Garden more strongly, are yet wanting, and some masterly finishing
touches still very necessary: one only little twining path, within ten
cubits of the fence, is certainly not in character with the grandeur of
the place; but the fence may be removed; and there is room, even now, on
the declivity of the banks, and by the sides of the lake, for more
considerable walks, with many recesses, which, when made and decorated,
will add variety to grandeur, and render the whole as entertaining and
splendid, as it is now great.
You enjoy the sight of this noble prospect for more than a mile; when
the little path is suddenly turned into a little wood, whence, after
having advanced a few paces, you behold a piece of scenery, all
artificial, which I cannot venture to describe in this presence: some of
you, Gentlemen, have seen what it is; and, with all your national
partiality, must allow, either that it proves the impossibility of
creating nature with any degree of success; or, that the ablest of your
countrymen have no talent that way; to create, or to improve, are
indeed very different operations; the former of which requires
infinitely the most skill: it is ten times more difficult to paint a
picture, than to judge, or suggest improvements, in one already painted.
Hitherto I have only described of B----m, what strangers usually see;
but the whole park, above twelve miles in circumference, and several
farms adjoining to it, are uncommonly beautiful, rich in old planting,
in water, and in a great variety of picturesque sites and points of
view; so that, with a very little dressing, with some assistance from
the sister arts of architecture and sculpture, the whole might easily be
converted into one large magnificent Garden.
And give me leave to observe, that these advantages are by no means
peculiar to B----m; England boasts at least a hundred other places, many
as extensive, most of them as capable of improvement, in various ways;
which, under the management of true artists, might soon be made to
rival the Tse-hiu and Chang-lin[24] of ancient days, the Yven ming, the
Tchang tchun yven,[25] or any of the present splendid pleasure Gardens
of our sublime Emperor, Kieng-long; the torch of the east, and true
descendant of Tay-tsoy, the providence of Heaven, whom Joss[26] preserve
in flesh and good spirits.
It must, however, be confessed, that there is an inconveniency
subsisting amongst you, which will always retard, and often prevent the
execution of this extensive plan of Gardening; it is the licentiousness
of your youth and common people, who delight in destroying every
extraordinary thing that comes in their way: if a great man plants trees
to shade and beautify a road, the people cut them down; if statues, or
other pieces of sculpture, are set to adorn places of public resort, the
boys pelt at them with stones, till all their extremities are
demolished: wherever there are buildings, or seats, even in your Royal
Gardens, we see them constantly disfigured with scurrilous inscriptions,
or obscene rhimes; and where there are any uncommon trees, they are
divested of every branch within reach; the shrubs are robbed of their
blossom; the flowers are trodden under foot; the birds and animals are
destroyed: in short, no mischief, that drunken mirth or deliberate
malevolence can suggest, is left undone. What pity that such destructive
brutality should exist in a country so particularly favoured by Nature,
and so capable of improvement in the highest degree; whilst, in every
other part of the world, it is unknown, almost unheard of!
But there is a strong tincture of the rhubarb in all human competitions;
and liberty, which has so many advantages, is, nevertheless, attended
with some inconveniencies, of a very serious nature; amongst which, the
ferocity of its lowest votaries is none of the least formidable. Since
our arrival here last July, I have seen at least twenty of their
boisterous pranks; in which, not to enumerate the broken windows, the
bloody noses, the kicks, and the bastinadoes of other gentlemen, I have
myself been a melancholy sufferer upon various occasions; particularly
at Portsmouth, where I was thrown into the sea, and narrowly escaped
drowning, for the diversion of the company. Would to Heaven!--as I say
to the mistress Chet-quas in a morning--would to Heaven, my ducks, we
were well at Quang-chew-fu again, with all our long nails, and all our
whiskers about us! The rigours of an Emperor are less frightful to me,
than the frolics of a savage mob, elevated to madness with songs of
freedom, and tons of strong beer: it is easier to please a man with one
good head, than a monster with ten thousand, all bad ones.
_Miao kao faan-quai_[27]
_Tsat paat quai-tsai_
Pardon this digression, which the terrors of a disturbed imagination
have drawn me into; and permit your servant to re-assume the thread of
his Discourse.
Wherever the extent is considerable, and the lands properly formed for
the purpose, the mode of natural Gardening, just recommended, ought
certainly to be employed in preference to any other, as it surpasses all
others in perfection, and is yet most easily executed: but in or near
great cities, where property is much divided, on flats, where nature has
no play, in all tame situations; the richer and more artificial manner
of our Gardening is preferable: because it may contain much variety in a
small compass, and corrects the natural defects of the ground more
speedily, more effectually, with less charge than any other.
This manner is also properest for grounds that immediately surround
elegant structures, where order and symmetry are absolutely necessary;
and for many little enclosures, or resting-places of various kinds, that
must always be dispersed in different parts of extensive plantations;
where nicety of dress, and excessive decoration are in character; and
where they may be conveniently secured with stronger fences, to guard
them from public intrusion.
These choice pieces of cultivation are appropriated to the owner and his
select friends; set aside for convivial pleasures, and enjoyments that
can only be tasted in private: they may be considered as more spacious
apartments, as habitations adapted to the milder seasons of the year, in
which Art and Nature unite to furnish a variety of whatever is
beautiful, elegant, extraordinary or entertaining; whilst the larger
improvements are suited to the more open amusements of the owner,
contrived upon a bolder system, for a more distant and cursory
inspection: they are a noble indication of his consequence; a
benevolent, as well as artful tribute to the community; which, whilst it
serves to multiply the conveniencys, or promote the innocent amusements
of the public, secures the popularity of the benefactor, and marks, in
the strongest colours, his power, wealth and munificence. How these
considerations operate in England, I, who am a stranger, cannot
determine; but in the kingdoms of the East they have great weight.
Your connoisseurs will, I know, object to our artificial scenery; which
they consider as unnatural, and represent as too expensive for
imitation. On the former of these points you have already heard my
sentiments; I need not now repeat them: those who are not yet convinced,
may still feed on crabs, and leave ananas to better heads.
Till my arrival in England, I never doubted but the appearance of art
was admissible, even necessary to the essence of a splendid Garden: and
I am more firmly of that opinion, after having seen your English
Gardens; though the contrary is so violently maintained by your
countrymen, in opposition to the rest of the world, to the practice of
all other polished nations, all enlightened ages; and, as far as I am
able to judge, in opposition to reason. But your people delight in
extremes; and, whenever they get upon a new scent, pursue it with such
rage, that they always overshoot the bounds. We admire Nature as much as
you do; but being of a more phlegmatick disposition, our affections are
somewhat better regulated: we consider how she may be employed, upon
every occasion, to most advantage; and do not always introduce her in
the same garb; but show her in a variety of forms; sometimes naked, as
you attempt to do; sometimes disguised; sometimes decorated, or assisted
by art; scrupulously avoiding, in our most artless dispositions, all
resemblance to the common face of the country, with which the Garden is
immediately surrounded; being convinced, that a removal from one field
to another, of the same appearance, can never afford any particular
pleasure, nor ever excite powerful sensations of any kind.
If I must tell you my mind freely, Gentlemen, both your artists and
connoisseurs seem to lay too much stress on nature and simplicity; they
are the constant cry of every half-witted dabbler, the burthen of every
song, the tune by which you are insensibly lulled into dullness and
insipidity. If resemblance to nature were the measure of perfection, the
waxen figures in Fleet-street, would be superior to all the works of the
divine Buonarotti; the trouts and wood-cocks of Elmer, preferable to the
cartoons of Raphael: but, believe me, too much nature is often as bad
as too little, as may be deduced from many examples, obvious to every
man conversant in polite knowledge. Whatever is familiar, is by no means
calculated to excite the strongest feelings; and though a close
resemblance to familiar objects may delight the ignorant, yet, to the
skilful, it has but few charms, never any of the most elevated sort; and
is sometimes even disgusting: without a little assistance from art,
nature is seldom tolerable; she may be compared to certain viands,
either tasteless, or unpleasant in themselves: which, nevertheless, with
some seasoning, become palatable; or, when properly prepared, compose a
most exquisite dish.
And with respect to simplicity, wherever more is admitted than may be
requisite to constitute grandeur, or necessary to facilitate conception,
it is always a fault. To the human mind, some exertion is always
necessary: it must be occupied to be pleased; and is more satisfied with
a treat, than with a frugal repast: for though it doth not delight in
intricacies, yet, without a certain, even a considerable degree of
complication, no grateful sensations can ever be excited. Excessive
simplicity can only please the ignorant or weak, whose comprehensions
are slow, and whose powers of combination are confined.
Simplicity must therefore be used with discretion, and the dose be
adapted to the constitution of the patients, amongst savages and
Hottentots; where arts are unknown, refinements unheard of, an abundant
portion may be necessary; but wherever civilization has improved the
mental faculties, a little, with proper management, will go a very great
way: need I prove what the music, poetry, language, arts and manners, of
every nation demonstrate, beyond the possibility of a doubt.
Another favourite word of your virtuosi, is purity; a word of which,
being a stranger, I do not perhaps know the full value; nor exactly in
what sense it is applied to the art in question. We are told, that in
the purity of Gardening, you were never equalled by any nation; even
that this boasted purity never appeared in any country but England: it
may be so; your Gardens have certainly been purged to the quick, freed
of every encumberance, and cleansed of every extrinsick redundancy; so
that nothing now remains but the genuine carcass, in its native purity:
yet whether this quality, which I apprehend is the only one that can
positively be implied, is a perfection or a blemish, will always be
disputed; for though pure wine[28] is, without doubt, a delicious
beverage, and preferable to that which is mixed, yet pure water is very
insipid, and may be much mended, by the additions of arrack, lemon and
sugar, to turn it into punch; and ninety-nine persons in a hundred will
maintain, that your pure Gardens might be much improved by the addition
of embellishments proper to produce variety, and set off the vegetation
to advantage: for vary your trees and shrubs as much as possible,
combine them in every imaginable arrangement, they are still but trees
and shrubs; they can impress but a very few images upon the mind of the
spectator, and only affect his senses with very slight perceptions.
That our artificial stile of Gardening is expensive, is doubtless true;
yet certainly not ruinously so. In my former voyage, I knew an
unfortunate prince, who, on a very moderate allowance from his
relations, supported a court in splendour; and, with the surplus, formed
one of the most extraordinary, as well as magnificent artificial Gardens
I ever saw. It is surprizing what good management will do, where
management is necessary; but you are too rich ever to need it in any
thing. I have seen more money expended here, in digging an ugly pond,
than would have compleated a whole Garden elsewhere; yet, after all, the
pond would never hold water. But, to proceed--You have all seen what the
French have done at Versailles, Marli, Trianon, Saint Cloud, Liancourt,
and Chanilly; the Italians near Rome, at Tivoli, at Frescati, and in
many other parts of Italy: I do not here enter into the merit of these
works; but they are certainly as costly, perhaps more so, than any of
ours; yet these were done by foreigners, of different denominations; all
without the least help of magick: you are richer than they; you may,
with some trouble, acquire their skill; it is hoped you have already
more than their spirit: be not, therefore, afraid to attempt, what they
have already long since accomplished.
I have formerly told you what sort of art we employ in our Chinese
Gardening; I now recommend it to your imitation; and though in general
your European artificial manner appears not to me perfect, yet doth it
contain many things highly deserving notice, which you have imprudently
laid aside, without substituting any equivalent.
To instance the Gardens of France; they are, I will allow, sufficiently
extravagant: you hear of nothing but islands of love, or halls of
festivity; every recess is the retreat of a God, every prospect a scene
of enchantment: like their petit maitres, they are all out of nature,
all affectation; yet it is an affectation often delightful, and
absurdity generally overflowing with taste and fancy: in their best
works there is such a mysterious, pleasing intricacy in the disposition,
such variety in the objects, so much splendour and animation in the
scenery, and so much skill apparent in the execution of every part, that
the attention of the spectator never flags; the succession is so rapid,
that he is hurried on from one exhibition to another, with his mind
constantly upon the stretch: he has only time to be pleased; there is no
leisure to reflect, none to be disgusted with the extravagance of what
he sees. If their Gardens are less rational than yours, they are
certainly much more entertaining; and though, upon the whole, they can
by no means be proposed as models for imitation, yet are there many
things to be borrowed from them, which might be adopted by you with
considerable advantage.
I may say the same with regard to the Italian Gardens, of which the
style is less affected, less extravagant than in those of France: the
heat of the climate obliges the inhabitants to seek for shade; the walks
are sheltered, the plantations close, whence their compositions have a
gloom, and an air of solitude that are exceedingly awful. There is a
grandeur of manner in all their works, seldom to be met with elsewhere;
which, about Rome, and in some other parts of Italy, is greatly
heightened by the majestick face of Nature, framed upon a larger scale,
and broken into nobler forms, than in most other countries. Their
vegetation too is uncommonly picturesque; the abundance of water with
which they are every where supplied, enables them to form a thousand
pleasing combinations; and the venerable vestiges of ancient structures,
which rear their decaying heads above the plantations, add surprizingly
to the dignity of the scenery.
At every step, the admiration of the spectator is excited by statues,
therms, bas-reliefs, sarcophagi urns, vases, and other remains of
ancient splendour; or he is delighted with the productions of modern
artists, ingeniously imagined, well executed, and skilfully disposed.
It is not easy to conceive any thing more entertaining, to a man of
taste, than an Italian Garden; in which, amidst a profusion of pleasing
objects, the same elegance of choice, the same elevation of style so
conspicuous in the sculpture and painting of the great Italian schools,
is every where prevalent.
To branch out into farther descriptions of your continental Gardens, is
perhaps superfluous, and may be thought foreign to the present purpose;
as some of them differ very little from those just mentioned; and others
are too trifling, or imperfect, to deserve any notice: yet permit me,
before I finish, to give a slight sketch of the Dutch Gardening; from
which I am apt to believe your ideas of the artificial style are chiefly
collected, and your extraordinary aversion to it principally owing.
In Holland, parterres, embroidered in box, brick-dust, sea-coal, and
broken porcelain, are every where admired. No Garden is perfect, that is
not surrounded with a wet ditch, and many _lusthouses_ hanging over it,
for smoking tobacco; nor is there any elegance, without some tons of
lead, transformed into skating Dutchmen, Harlequins, and fluting
Shepherdesses, all richly painted, in proper colours: azure flower-pots,
with gilt handles, are seen in every corner; and golden mercury are
perched, like birds, upon every pinnacle: every pass is guarded by
pasteboard Grenadiers; and Fame, straddling over the entrance, displays
a Dutch label to the passenger, telling the name and beauties of the
place, the virtues and moral opinions of the proprietor. These
particularities, with all the formal absurd parts of the French
Gardening, make an Eden in Holland; a thing too ridiculous to be out of
humour with any where; 'tis a pity it has had so serious an effect upon
you. You are a wise people; yet, in the reformation of Gardening, you
have followed the beaten road of ignorance: to avoid one fault, you have
run headlong into another, its opposite: because, in the Old Gardening,
art, order and variety, were carried to an extravagant excess, you have,
in the New, almost totally excluded them all three: to mend an
exuberant, fantastick dress, you have stripped stark naked: and, to
heal a distempered limb, you have, like some famous surgeons of our day,
chopped it entirely off.