" It is almost superfluous to remark," observes Dr. Faulkener, speaking of Pliny's gardens, " the striking re semblance which they bear to one in the French or Dutch taste. The terraces adjoining to the house ; the lawn de clining from thence ; the little flower garden, with the fountain in the centre ; the walks bordered with box ; and the trees sheared into whimsical artificial forms, together with the fountains, alcoves, and summer-houses, form a resemblance too striking-Ito bear dispute " " In an age," ob serves Lord \Valpole, " when architecture displayed all its grandeur, all its purity, and all its taste ; when arose Ves pasian's amphitheatre, the temple of peace, Trajan's forum, Domitian's bath, and Adrian's villa, the ruins and vestiges of which still excite our astonishment and curiosity ; a Roman consul, a polished emperor's friend, and a man of elegant literature and taste, delighted in what the mob now scarce admire in a college garden. All the ingredients of Pliny's garden corresponded exactly with those laid out by London and Wise on Dutch principles; so that nothing is wanting but a parterre, to make a garden in the reign of Trajan serve for the description of one in the reign of king William." We consider these remarks of this eloquent author as dictated by too limited a view of the subject. Because the Roman gardens were considered as scenes of art, and treated as such, it does not follow that the posses sors were without a just feeling for natural scenery; Where all around is nature, artificial scenes even of the most for mal description will please, and may be approved by the justest taste, from their novelty and contrast, and other as sociations. If all England were a scattered forest like ancient Italy, and cultivation were to take place only in the open glades or plains, where would be the beauty of her parks and pleasure grounds ? The relative or tempo rary beauties of art should therefore not be hastily or en tirely rejected in our admiration of the more permanent and absolute beauties of nature.
That the ancient Romans admired natural scenery with as great enthusiasm as the moderns, is evident from the writings of their eminent poets and philosophers ; scarcely one of whom has not, in some part of his works, left us the most beautiful descriptions of rural scenery, and the most enthusiastic strains of admiration of all that is grand, pleasing, or romantic, in landscape ; and some of them, as Cicero and Juvenal, have deprecated the efforts of art in attempting to improve nature. " Whoever," says Mr. G. Mason, " would properly estimate the attachinent to rural picturesque among heathen nations of old, should not confine their researches to the domains of men, but extend them to the temples and altars, the caves and fountains, dedicated to their deities. These, with their concomitant groves, were generally favourite objects of visual pleasure as well as of venera tion." As the French made the most conspicuous figure in gardening during this period, we shall commence with such notices as we have been able to collect of its progress in France, and pass successively to the other countries in Europe.
The earliest notice which we have been able to find of a garden in France, is in the Capit. de villis et turns im peratoris Cardi Magni, prepared about the end of the eighth century, and referred to by Montesquieu as a chef d'auvre of the prudence, good administration and economy." It contains 70 articles, recommending or proosing every possible attention and precaution ; and the 70th contains a list of the plants and trees to he cultivated. Among these, medicinal plants bold a considerable !face ; there are but few sin ubs, and only the common fruit trees. This monarch had domains in most parts of France, and gave every en couragement, as the Abbe Schmidt (Encyc. Method. tomes 4 and 5.) informs us, to clearing away forests, and planting vineyards and orchards. From his intimacy with the Sara cenie Prince Haroun at Raschid, he introduced many charming varieties of the rose, the best sorts of pulse, melons, and the finer sorts of fruits. He had a noble palace at Ingleheim, on the Rhine, supported by a hundred columns ol Italian marble, and containing an immense num ber of apartments. The whole is consecrated by Nigellus, in a Latin poem of considerable length.
The next notice of a garden in France, unaccompanied by any details, is that of the Hotel de St. Paul, at Paris, formed by Chat les the V. in 1361. The scene of the Re mount de Rase is in a garden ; hut, excepting that there were edgings of violets and primroses, there is not a hint i as to its form or productions.
Little appears to have been done in France before the beginning of the 16th century, when, in consequence of the marriage of Francis the I. with the daughter of Leo the X., something of what that illustrious pontiff revived in Italy would he transplanted to France. Stephens and Lie bault published their Matson Rustique towards the end of this century ; from which it appears, that gardening, and every other rural art,' had made considerabla progress in France. What relates to ornament in La Matson Rustique, may he included in the directions given for forming arbours of jessamine, rows of box, juniper, and cypress, and the plates for parterres and labyrinths. Botany began also to
be cultivated about this time, the taste having been im ported from ltalv, where it originally had its rise, this country being now looked up to by all Europe as the foun tain of learning and elegance.
The Royal Botanic Garden of Paris was first opened in 1634 ; and Boyceau published his Traite du Jardinagc se Ion la raison de la nature et de rare, with figures, in 1638. From this hook it appears, that considerable progress had been made in the more common and eas:, descriptions of planting and orcharding, but very little, as Benard, a mo dern writer, also informs us, in the culture of exotics.
Le Notre, during the reign of Lewis the XIV. improv ed and settled the French taste in lay ing out grounds. This taste, Eustace mentions, they acquired originally, as they did every thing else, from Italy ; to which country Le No tre was sent to study the art. He returned, and scents to have determined on exceeding, at least in magnitude, every thing he had seen. His chief work of Versailles ; though there is scarcely a country in Europe for which he has not given designs. His taste and manner continued in full repute for above a century ; and apnear• to have been in general vogue so late as 1771, 50 years after the into diction of the modern style in England ; for the editor of the Journal Encyclopedique of that ye..1, i i a critique on the French translation of Wheat!) 's Observations on Mo dern Gardening, after the most liberal encomiums on the work, expresses his doubts as to how it would be received in France, where he adds, " Le Notre's school is still fol lowed, and every rich proprietor is anxious that his gar den, it it does not resemble, shall, at least, recall to his mind those of the court at Versailles, Trianon, Meudon, Sceaux, or Ciugny." The editor,1li1lin, mentions Dufresnoy, a cotemporary of Le Notre, as an artist of greater genius, and more attach ed to natural beauties, though less known by his talent for designing gardens than by ais comedies. The French no bles, as Hirschfield has remarked, were not attached to a country life. As they did not engage in agriculture, and took little or no interest in the welfare ol their tenantry, all that they had to detain them at their chateaux was the en joy meat of field sports, (to which, as a nation, they are not greatly attached.) and the inability of supporting the ex pence's of a residence in town. Tue splendour of the court, and the gaiety and bustle of a city life, better suited tneir natural character ; which this erudite author thinks may account for their best gardens being in or near to their large towns, as well as for a too profuse introduction of little and trifling ornaments. Among these he reckons vases and flower pots, with which, in Lord Walpole's time, every walk in Marshal Bircm's garden, of 14 acres, was fully- buttoned " It is rely probable that gardening was never entirely ne glected in Italy from the time of the Romans ; though in what consideration it was held during the earner periods of the Western Empire does not appear. With the other arts, it was revived and patronized by the Medici family, in the beginning of the 16th century ; and the most celebrated gardens, we are informed by Mr. Roscoe, were those of Lorenzo de Medici, and of the wealthy Bernard Ruceilai. The latter served as a model for the famous Boboli garden at Florence, and those of the Vatican, and of the Medici, Burghese, Aldobrandini, and other palaces in Rome." (Quarterly Review, Jan. 1817 ; Roscoe's Life of Leo the X. vol. ii. octavo edit.) Public botanic gardens, establisned in Italy about the middle uf tne preceding century, (Istoria Batanico di Giacomo, Bologna, 1675.) led to an extens.oa of the culture of flowers in private gardens, and rendered them less exclusively architectural than formerly. War ton, in his Essay on Pope, 5th edit. mentions, that in E.,ida mo, a poem written and puolished at Mtlan in 1617, by G. B. Andreini, a Florentine, " tne prints that are to represent Paradise are full of clipt hedges, square parterres, straight walks, trees uniformly lopt, regular knots and carpets of flowers, groves nodding at groves, marble fountains and water- wot ks ;" a fact which gives rise to many curious re flections. In a very complete and teamed work, Istoria e coltura del piante con an Trattato del drchitettura d'un Gi ardina &c. published at Venice in 1726, oy B. Ciarici, tire same style is treated of and displayed in an elegant engrav ed bird's-eye view of the palace and gardens ol S. Gerardo at Morocco. near Venice. In Pereiei's Choix des plus celebrcs 712C1i8W28 de Plaisance de Rome, Kraf.'s Views, and Laborde's Designs, may be seen the general arrange ment of an. Italian villa, both of the last century, and me present day. It differs nothing- in the general leanares from the description of the French style which we hav just given ; hut in detail is much more architectural ; an.1 tile area of the garden being less, the statues, termini, marble hmtains, seats, &c. winch characterize it, are placea tnare closely together. Their effect, however, is well harnioniz cd by the exuberant vegetation, rich display of oranges, and other fruits and flowers, and by the clear sky, and mild climate.