Anyhow, Regent's Park was welcomed by the generation who watched it grow. A writer in 1823 says: "When first we saw that Marylebone Fields were enclosed, and that the hedgerow walks which twined through them were gradually being obliterated and the whole district artificially laid out,... we underwent a painful feeling or two.... A few years, however, have elapsed, and we are not only reconciled to the change alluded to, but rejoice in it. A noble Park is rapidly rising up, and a vast space, close to the metropolis, not only preserved from the encroachment of mean buildings, but laid out with groves, lakes, and villas,... while through the place there is a winding road, which commands at every turn some fresh feature of an extensive country prospect." This enthusiast winds up by saying, "We do not envy the apathy of the Englishman who can walk through these splendid piles without feeling his heart swell with national pride." We may smile at such high-sounding language, but, after all, it was an innocent form for national pride to take.
