lake is so adroitly hidden as to give the idea of greater size in the part unseen, or as when a meander of pebbles is made to represent a river-bed. Everything, in fact, has a reason,—generally an abstruse reason. Gardens are supposed to be capable of symbolising abstract ideas, such as peace, chastity, old age, etc. The following passage, from the authority quoted below, will show how the garden of a certain Buddhist abbot is made to convey the idea of the power of divine truth:—"This garden consists almost entirely of stones arranged in a fanciful and irregular manner in a small enclosure, the sentiment expressed depending for its value upon acquaintance with the following Buddhist legend, somewhat reminding us of the story of Saint Francis and the birds. A certain monk Daita, ascending a hillock and collecting stones, began to preach to them the secret precepts of Buddha, and so miraculous was the effect of the wondrous truths which he told that even the lifeless stones bowed in reverent assent. Thereupon the Saint placed them upon the ground around him, and consecrated them as the 'Nodding Stones.'"
What the Japanese call hako-niwa is a whole landscape-garden compressed into the microscopic limits of a single dish or flower-pot,—paths, bridges, mountains, stone lanterns, etc., all complete,—a fanciful little toy.
The roof ridge of a peasant's dwelling sometimes presents the aspect of a flower-garden; for when it is flat, it is apt to be overgrown with irises or red lilies. People disagree about the reason. Some say that the flowers are planted in order to avert pestilence, while others no less positively affirm the growth to be accidental. Others again assert that the object is to strengthen the thatch. We incline to this latter view. Bulbs do not fly through the air, neither is it likely that bulbs should be contained in the sods put on the top of all the houses in a village. We have noticed, furthermore, that in the absence of such sods, brackets of strong shingling are employed, so that it is safe to assume that the two are intended to serve the same purpose.
