ndous round the
edges of every grass-plat. The great master above mentioned, truly the
disciple of nature, imitated her in the agreeable wildness and beautiful
irregularity of her plans, of which there are some noble examples still
remaining, that abundantly show the power of his creative genius." Mr.
Dallaway, when treating on architecture, in his Anecdotes of the Arts,
says, "Kent designed the noble hall at Holkham, terminated by a vast
staircase, producing, in the whole, an imposing effect of grandeur not
to be equalled in England." Kent died in 1748. He was a contemporary
therefore of Horace Walpole. He was buried in the vault at Chiswick,
belonging to his friend and patron, Lord Burlington.

BRIDGMAN'S portrait was a private plate. It exhibited a kind-hearted,
hale old countenance. As he has the honour of being classed with Mr.
_Addison_, and with _Pope_, and _Kent_, as one of the champions who
established the picturesque scenery of landscape gardening, (which
_Bacon_, and _Spencer_, and _Milton_, as hath been observed, foresaw)
his portrait must surely be interesting. The engraved portrait which I
saw of him more than fifty years ago, made then a strong impression on
me. I think it was an etching. It marked a venerable healthy man. I
neither recollect its painter nor engraver; and it is so scarce, that
neither Mr. Smith, of Lisle Street, nor Mr. Evans, of Great Queen
Street, the intelligent collectors and illustrators of Granger, have
been able to obtain it. Perhaps it will be discovered that it was a
private plate, done at the expence of his generous and noble employer,
Lord Cobham. Of this once able and esteemed man, I can procure little
information. The Encycl. of Gardening says, "Lord Cobham seems to have
been occupied in re-modelling the grounds at _Stowe_, about the same
time that Pope was laying out his gardens at Twickenham. His lordship
began these improvements in 1714, _employing Bridgman_, whose plans and
views for altering old Stowe from the most rigid character of the
ancient style to a more open and irregular design, are still in
existence. Kent was employed a few years afterwards, first to paint the
hall, and afterwards in the double capacity of architect and
landscape-gardener; and the finest scenes there are his creation." The
finest views of Stowe gardens were drawn by Rigaud, and published by
_Sarah Bridgman_, in 1739. The fine and magnificent amphitheatre at the
Duke of Newcastle's, at Clarem