" Henry, Earl of Danby, the Earl of Gainsborough,
"the _Maecenas_ of his age," the Earl of Halifax, the friend of Addison,
Swift, Pope, and Steele; Lord Weymouth, of Longleate; Dr. Sherard, of
Eltham; the Earl of Scarborough, an accomplished nobleman, immortalized
by Pope, and by the fine pen of Chesterfield; and the Duke of Argyle,
with numerous other men of rank and science, have highly assisted in
elevating gardening to the station it has long since held.[6]
[6] "Portraits of English Authors on Gardening."
Beauty and health are the attributes of gardening. In illustration of
the former, we remember a passage from Gervase Markham, thus: "As in the
composition of a delicate woman the grace of her cheeke is the mixture
of red and white, the wonder of her eye blacke and white, and the beauty
of her hand blew and white, any of which is not said to be beautifull if
it consist of single or simple colours; and so in walkes or alleyes,
the all greene, nor the all yellow, cannot be said to be most
beautifull; but the greene and yellow, (that is to say the untroade
grasse, and the well-knit gravelle) being equally mixt, give the eye
both lustre and delight beyond comparison." Abercrombie lived to the age
of _eighty_, when he died by a fall down stairs in the dark. He was
present at the battle of Preston Pans, which was fought close to his
father's garden walls.
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