International studio (25.1905)

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in hot weather. Electric lights were introduced at
the sides and candles were added to the table. Only
a tracery of vines was permitted to establish itself
between the columns of the veranda, permitting a
clear view of the garden. Here, a quaint dial made
"a link between the sun and the garden," and a
fountain was "the visible emblem of earth's refresh-
ment." A well-kept grass plot, climbing roses on
the inclosing wall, juniper trees in terra-cotta
tubs, and a path laid with bricks completed the
picture.
One city garden, with the grass planted thick with
crocuses, gave the signal to every passer-by of the


ARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENT IN A CITY GARDEN

breaking up of winter, and however sceptical
seemed the message in snowy streets and bitter
winds it was a prophecy full of good cheer.
A border bed to follow the curved or rectilineal
lines of the path from the gate to the house may
become a calendar of summer days if it is filled with
blooming plants from month to month. In May,
tulips; in June, roses; in July, geraniums; in Aug-
ust, phlox; in September, marigolds; in October,
chrysanthemums.
Trees of considerable size are so scientifically
transplanted now-a-days, that the fore garden to a
city house need not lack their distinctive presence.
As a substitute there may be trimmed shrubs set in
ornamental earthen pots. Vines, "the tapestry of
brick walls," may conceal the commonplace, but
often necessary, partitions or divisions, and boxes
filled with flowering plants may decorate the window
ledges.

IR CASPAR PURDON CLARKE: A
PERSONAL NOTE.
BY JOHN LANE.
ON my arrival in New York recently I
read the cabled reports of the appointment to the
directorship of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
of Sir Caspar Purdon Clarke, whom it is mv
privilege to know. I thought there must be some
mistake. He has been so long and so popularly
associated with the arts and crafts of the Victoria
and Albert Museum, that one would just as soon
have thought of the building itself or, indeed, the
British Museum being bodily removed here.
Sir Purdon has the rare faculty of being an expert
in antiquities, as well as of knowing all that is best
about the modern arts. Indeed, I can recall nothing
more fascinating than to hear him describe the
causes and effects of the various constituents em-
ployed in, say, producing a piece of pottery, enamel
or some Oriental fabric, be it ancient or modern.
The fact is, he seems to know how everything is
made. He appears to be chemist, scientist, artist,
craftsman, antiquary, archeologist and alchemist
combined. He also has the instinct of at once
recognizing the genuineness of an antique as well
as its beauty. These are too often diverse qualities.
It should be remembered that not all things which
are old or even unique are beautiful, or have any
special educational or monetary value. It is this
rare combination which has equipped him as one of
the greatest experts in Europe.
In England his departure can only be regarded
as a national loss. Mr. Morgan has annexed many
men and things in Europe, but the removal of Sir
Purdon is the one irreparable loss that British
lovers of the arts will not soon forgive. Mr. Morgan
must be congratulated, too, on obtaining such dis-
tinguished services for Fifteen Thousand Dollars
per annum. Just think of the number of "buyers"
there are at the various stores on Broadway and
Fifth Avenue who draw annually Twenty or
Twenty-five Thousand Dollars. It is evident that
Sir Purdon has not been induced to accept the posi-
tion from pecuniary motives.
Indeed, I believe that he at once recognized the
unexampled opportunity of impressing his person-
ality and enthusiasms on the art of eighty millions
of the most alert people in the world—a people ever
eager to assimilate new ideas to the old ideals, as
nothing remains for the young—the modern—but to
give out new versions and new readings of the old.
In early life he was brought under the influence
of the late Sir Woolaston Franks, the greatest


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