A Dialogue upon the Gardens of the Right Honorouble the Lord Viscount Cobham at Stow in BuckinghamshireGilpin, William
Philosophy
A Dialogue upon the Gardens of the Right Honorouble the Lord Viscount Cobham at Stow in Buckinghamshire
Gilpin, William
Cobham, Richard Temple, Viscount, 1669?-1749; Landscape gardening -- Early works to 1800
_Polypth._ Moralize! The D----l take me, if I would not this Moment, in
spite of--
_Calloph._ Nay, come, don't grow serious: You know I have long since
laid it down as a Rule, to stop my Ears when you get into your political
Vein. I am not now to learn that there is no keeping you within the
Bounds of Temperance upon that Topic.
_Polypth._ Well then, let us have something else to talk about.----Yon
Wall at this Distance seems to promise us some Bass-relief.
_Calloph._ Yes, Sir; you are there presented with a View of the
different Quarters of the World, bringing their various Products to
_Britannia_. It is a pretty Ornament enough for a Bridge, which, like
the Art of Navigation, joins one Land to another.
_Polypth._ I can't say I much admire the Workmanship. There is a great
Degree of Awkwardness in several of the Figures.
_Calloph._ Why really I am so far of your way of thinking, that I must
own I am no great Admirer of this kind of Work, except it be extremely
fine.----The best thing in this Way, that ever I met with, is a Piece of
Alt-relief which his Lordship keeps within Doors. We shall scarce, I
believe have time now, but we must take an Opportunity of seeing it
before you leave the Country. You will meet with likewise in those
Apartments several very good Pictures: I remember spending an Afternoon
about half a Year ago, in a very agreeable Manner amongst them. But this
Piece of Alt-relief struck me beyond every thing. The Story is
_Darius_'s Tent; and it is so charmingly told, that I have had, I can
tell you, a meaner Opinion of _Le Brun_ upon that Subject, ever since I
have seen it: The Composition is so just, the Figures so graceful and
correct, nay, the very Drapery so free and easy, that I declare I was
altogether astonished at the Sight of it.
_Polypth._ Well; I shall find some Opportunity of paying it a Visit.
There is so much Art required, and so much Difficulty attends doing any
thing in this Way as it ought to be, that when we do meet with a good
Piece of Workmanship of this kind, it affords us an extreme
Pleasure.----So, Sir _William_, have I met you here! I should rather
have expected to have seen you among the _British_ Worthies.----This
same _Penn_, Sir, I assure you, is a great Favourite of mine. I esteem
him one of the most worthy Legislators upon Record. His Laws, I am told,
act still with great Force in _Pensylvania_, and keep the honest,
inoffensive People there in extreme good Order.
_Calloph._ Our Sailors mention his Colony as a very happy Set of People;
they live entirely at Peace amongst themselves; and (bred up in a
strict Observance of Probity) without any Knowledge of an Art Military
amongst them, are able to preserve the most sociable Terms with their
Neighbours.----These Busts seem to have escaped your Observation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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