Mr. Wells has obviously been guided by two principles; viz., first, that, in the views from the house, the natural character and expression of the surrounding country should be preserved; and, secondly, that all the garden scenes should be kept subordinate, or as episodes to the main features of the place. In order to preserve the general character of the country in the views from the house, it was necessary that the same character should prevail in the foreground which exists in the different distant parts of the scene; and, hence, no flower-beds are introduced immediately before the windows of the living-rooms. Something of this kind might, no doubt, have been done, though in a sparing manner, had Mr. Wells rebuilt the house, and surrounded it by an architectural terrace or basement; but, without such a medium for uniting the house with the grounds, flowers in the foreground, Mr. Wells judges, and in our opinion most justly, would have too powerfully attracted the eye. We must confess (such is the force of habit) that, the first time we saw Redleaf, we thought we felt the want of an enriched foreground to the views from the house; and another gentleman (the Rev. J. Mitford), a very eminent critic in all that relates to the landscape scenery of country residences, acknowledges that he had, and still has, the same feeling. On mature reflection, however, we are convinced that Mr. Wells is right, and that his taste is the purer of the two. Were Mr. Wells not as great an admirer of flowers as of pictures, and were his collection at Redleaf of the one not as select and excellent as that of the other, it might be supposed that he was so wholly absorbed in landscape, that he had no taste for flower-gardens; but the reverse of this supposition being the case, proves to us that Mr. Wells's taste is the result of genuine correct feeling.
