In some other enclosures are pairs of beautiful deer, which I wish
might be enlarged to the whole extent of the Park. But I can only
imagine them on the great sweeps of grass, which recall the savannahs
and prairies, though there is a very satisfactory flock of sheep which
nibbles the herbage there, when these spaces are not thrown open to the
ball-players who are allowed on certain days of the week. I like to
watch them, and so do great numbers of other frequenters of the Park,
apparently; and when I have walked far up beyond the reservoirs of
city-water, which serve the purpose of natural lakes in the landscape,
I like to come upon that expanse in the heart of the woods where the
tennis-players have stretched their nets over a score of courts, and
the art students have set up their easels on the edges of the lawns,
for what effect of the autumnal foliage they have the luck or the skill
to get. It is all very sweet and friendly, and in keeping with the
purpose of the Park, and its frank and simple treatment throughout.
III.
I think this treatment is best for the greatest number of those who
visit the place, and for whom the aspect of simple nature is the
thing to be desired. Their pleasure in it, as far as the children are
concerned, is visible and audible enough, but I like, as I stroll
along, to note the quiet comfort which the elder people take in this
domain of theirs, as they sit on the benches in the woodland ways,
or under the arching trees of the Mall, unmolested by the company of
some of the worst of all the bad statues in the world. They are mostly
foreigners, I believe, but I find every now and then an American among
them, who has released himself, or has been forced by want of work,
to share their leisure for the time; I fancy he has always a bad
conscience, if he is taking the time off, from the continual pressure
of our duty to add dollar to dollar, and provide for the future as
well as the present need. The foreigner, who has been bred up without
the American’s hope of advancement, has not his anxiety, and is a
happier man, so far as that goes; but the Park imparts something of its
peace to every one, even to some of the people who drive, and form a
spectacle for those who walk.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account