The common practice of almost every author who has written on the modern style, is to condemn indiscriminately every other taste as unnatural and absurd. If by unnatu ral, an allusion is made to the verdant scenery of uncultivat ed nature, we allow that this is the case ; but we would ask, if, for that reason, it follows, that though now absurd, these gardens were not as natural and reasonable in their day, as any of the manners and customs of these times ? Gardening, as a liberal art, is destined to create scenes, in which both beauty and use are combined : admitting, there fore, that both styles are alike convenient, to say that the modern only is beautiful, is to say that there is only one sort of beauty adapted to ; or that there is no beauty but that of the picturesque ; or that all former ages, and every other country. is in a state of barbarism with respect to this art. if we take the term natural in a more exten sive sense, and apply it to the climate, situation, condition, and manners of a people ; and if we allow these to be natural, why may not their gardening be natural, as well as their particular customs and dress? The gardening we now condemn so unreservedly, has subsisted, as we have seen, from the earliest ages in warm climates ; and still prevails there, as well as in more temperate countries, whose inha bitants are riot altogether ignorant of the modern style. It may, therefore, be said to have grown up with mankind, and at all events must be perfectly suited to the wants and wish es of the ii,nabilants of such countries. In order to judge of the fitness or utility of a style, we must know the pur poses to which it is applied ; and in order to judge of its beauty relatively to the people who employ it, we ought to know what beauties are already most abundant in their country, as well as something of the degree of their ad vancement in civilization.
The gardens of the east, we have every reason to believe, were used more as an arbour or a conservatory in this country, than as places of exercise and active enjoyment. The object was repose, indolent recreation, sedentary or luxurious enjoyment. To breathe the fresh air, shaded from a tropical sun ; to inhale the odour of flowers ; to lis ten to the murmur of breezes or fountains, to the singing of birds ; or to observe the minute beauties of the surround ing foliage, was and still continues to be the ordinary class of beauties desired in an eastern garden. A higher and more voluptuous kind, consisted in using it as a banqueting place, bath, or seraglio, as is still the case in Turkey and Persia ; in feasting the eyes with the sight of dancing beau ties ; in ravishing the ears with concerts of vocal or instru mental music, and in firing every sense with wine. Exer cise' was incompatible with that langour of body, which is attendant on a warm climate and a distant prospect ; incon sistent with security from wild beasts, and that privacy which selfishness or jealousy might dictate. Add to this, that the natural surface of warm countries is generally so parched with heat,f as to be far less agreeable to look on than the verdure of a limited space, kept luxuriant by water. If to these we subjoin the use of fruit, and, what is
common to every exertion of man, a desire of obtaining ap plause for the employment of wealth and skill, we shall in clude every object sought in an eastern garden.
An eastern garden, therefore, appears to have been a col lection of all those beauties found scattered about in gene ral nature, in order to adapt them to the use and enjoyment. of man. Let us now inquire how their plan, as far as we are acquainted with it, was calculated for this end. Mode rate extent, and immediate connection with the house, are necessary and obvious ingredients in their design. The square form would be adapted for the enclosure as the simplest ; the trees would be ranged in rows, to afford con tinuity of shade ; and the walks would run parallel between them, to admit uninterrupted progress ; that walk parallel to, and close under the house, would be a raised platform or terrace, to'give elevation and dignity to the house, to give the master a commanding view of the garden, and to serve as a connecting link between art and comparative nature.
By leaving open plots or squares of turf in the areas, formed by intersecting rows of trees, a free circulation of air would be facilitated ; and the same object, as Pliny in forms us, is promoted by the quincunx, which admits the breeze from every quarter of the compass more readily than any other disposition. A picturesque or natural ar rangement would have stagnated the air, and defeated one of the grand purposes in view. The same reasons would guide them in their choice of spreading broad leaved trees; and to thicken their houghs, or deprive them of such branches as were too low, or tended to destroy the balance of the tree, the pruning knife would be occasionally ap plied. Water in every form suggests the idea of coolness; but agitated in cascades, fountains, cr it is used to the best advantage, and the heat of the atmosphere is moderated in proportion to the evaporation which takes place. In still ponds or basins, it has another property, that of reflecting the objects around it. Buildings, as ar bours, aviaries, covered seats, banqueting houses, baths, and grottos, would become requisite for their respective uses, and would abound in proportion to the wealth or rank of the owner. Fruit trees would be introduced in appro priate situations for the sake of their fruit, and a choice of odoriferous flowers and shrubs would fringe the margin of the walks, to admit of a more easy inspection of their beau ties, and nearer contact of their odours with the olfactory nerves ; they would also be disposed in greater profusion, in curious knots or parterres near to the house, or in front of the resting places, or banqueting-rooms. In time, even artificial objects of value, as dials, statues, vases, and urns, would be added, in order to create as much variety and inte rest in a small spot as was consistent with its utility.