Robertson’s “Tour in the Isle of Man” (1794) has little effective description, but it is noteworthy as one of the first books of travel to be infected by the sentimental melancholy of the romances. His Manxmen “recline by some romantic stream” in the true pensive spirit. He visits churchyards and solitary places. He pores over the mazy stream, he watches the rooks, he listens to the sighing evening breeze, very much like one of Mrs. Brooke’s lovelorn heroes. Occasionally he has some expressions of deeper import, as when he says that Nature not only charms the eye “but purifies and ennobles the soul.” “The mind is filled with divine enthusiasm.” He is, however, perhaps adequately characterized by the word “romantic,” which he uses until it becomes almost unbearable. Of “Travels” in general we may say that the transfer of emphasis from man to Nature is strongly marked. The love of Nature as shown in “Travels” is later in development than it is in poetry, but when the new feeling does find expression it sounds no uncertain note, and by the end of the century has reached a statement as bold and unqualified as that which is found in the poetry itself. CHAPTER V GARDENING When Charles II returned to England in 1660 he brought with him a knowledge of the new style of gardening in France, and an ambition to reform English taste according to French models. He committed the care of the royal gardens of Whitehall, St. James, and Hampton Court to French gardeners, and he spent money lavishly in various attempts to naturalize French flowers, fruits, and vines in English soil. With memories of the glories of Versailles he summoned Le Nôtre, the famous designer of French palatial gardens, and Grillet, noted for his skill in hydraulics, to plan the parks of St. James and Greenwich.[534] It is not certain that Le Nôtre actually came to England, but the royal parks and some great estates were laid out according to the dominant ideas of the French designer if not under his direct supervision. The French traditions thus established were carried on by John Rose who was sent to study the gardens at Versailles and who was appointed royal gardener in England. Rose’s pupil and successor, George London, in about 1690 took Henry Wise as partner and the two were for nearly a quarter of a century the recognized authorities on gardens in England. On the accession of Queen Anne, Wise became royal gardener, and London then confined himself to country work. He is said to have supervised most of the notable English estates, riding sometimes fifty or sixty miles a day in the course of his business.