filled
with a wonderful variety of shrubs and trees. From the terrace walk on
the left we may look over the wall to the eastern gardens and park;
along the right-hand terrace is formed Queen Mary's Bower, an
intertwisted avenue of trimmed and cut wych-elms, some of the
distorted trunks of which might have inspired more than one of Dore's
Dante illustrations. This shady bower is in summer particularly
delightful, and from the farther end of it is to be had, through and
above the evergreens of this Privy Garden, a beautiful view of the
south front of the Palace. At the farther end of the Privy Garden,
fencing it from the towing path, are some magnificent iron gates and
screens.

Along the gravel walk, immediately against the south front of the
Palace, are ranged in summer great tubs with orange trees, believed to
be those originally planted here by Queen Mary--though it is not easy
to realize that they are over three hundred years old! And close to
this wall of the Palace stand two heroic Statues, Hercules with his
club, and another; it might be thought, half of the quartette of
figures that, as old views of the Palace show, at one time stood on
the low columns which rise above the balustrading of the roof, only
that quartette is said to have consisted of goddesses, since removed
to Windsor. In an old engraving, dated 1815, two figures are still to
be seen on the skyline.

Beyond the steps up to Queen Mary's Bower, a gateway leads us to the
farther Privy Gardens. On the right may be observed where Wren's
additions end abruptly against the windows of Queen Elizabeth's
Chambers, and her monogram is to be seen carved boldly above the
first-floor window in a decorative ribbon pattern, while above the
second-floor window are her initials beside a crowned Tudor rose, each
carving having the date 1568.

Here we are in the Pond Garden--or series of gardens--on the right,
over a low old wall, is a small turfed and flower grown enclosure with
the long Orangery at the farther side. On the left is a close grown
hedge, beyond which are a succession of small garden enclosures, only
the centre one of which is kept up as a show place, and this is the
delightful quadrangular enclosed space sometimes spoken of as the
Dutch Garden. This sunk garden, with its turf, its stone walks, that
are not walked upon, its small evergreens, cut by topiarian art into
the semblance of birds, its low-growing plants rich in varicoloured
flowers, its ev