Page 23

23
long avenue be placed an obelisk, or temple, or any other eye-trap, ignorance
or childhood alone
will be caught or pleased by it: the eye of taste or experience hates compulsion,
and turns away
with disgust from every artificial means of attracting its notice: for this
reason an avenue is most
pleasing, which, like, that at Langley Park, climbs up an hill, and, passing
over its summit, leaves
the fancy to conceive its termination.
One great mischief of an avenue is, that it divides a park, and cuts it into
separate parts, destroy-
ing that unity of lawn or wood which is necessary to please in every composition:
this is so obvious,
that where a long avenue runs through a park from east to west, it would
be hardly possible to
'avoid distinguishing it into the north and south lawn, or north and south
division of the park.
' But the greatest objection to an avenue is, that (especially in uneven
ground) it will often act as
a curtain drawn across to exclude what is infinitely more interesting than
any row of trees, however
venerable or beautiful in themselves; and it is in undrawing this curtain
at proper places, that the
utility of what is called breaking an avenue consists: for it is in vain
we shall endeavour, by re-
moving nine-tenths of the trees in rows, to prevent its having the effect
of an avenue when
' seen from either end. The drawing No. VIII. may serve to show the effect
of cutting down some
' chesnut trees in the avenue at Langley, to let in the hill, richly covered
with oaks, and that ma-
'jestic tree, which steps out before its brethren like the leader of an host.
Such openings may be
made in several parts of this avenue with wonderful effect; and yet its venerable
appearance from
the windows of the saloon will not be injured, because the trees removed
from the rows will hardly
be missed in the general perspective view from the house. And though I should
not advise the
planting such an avenue, yet there will always be so much of ancient grandeur
in the front trees,