where king Charles II. went to regale himself the night after his
restoration, and formed an immediate connexion with Mrs. Palmer,
afterwards Duchess of Cleveland. The trees, however, are more than a
century old, and, according to tradition, were planted for a public
garden. This property was formerly held by Jane Fauxe, or Vaux, widow,
in 1615; and it is highly probable (says Nichols) that she was the
relict of the infamous Guy. In the "Spectator," No. 383, Mr. Addison
introduces a voyage from the Temple Stairs to Vauxhall, in which he is
accompanied by his friend, Sir Roger de Coverley. In the "Connoisseur,"
No. 68, we find a very humourous description of the behaviour of an old
penurious citizen, who had treated his family here with a handsome
supper. The magnificence of these gardens calls to recollection the
magic representations in the "Arabian Nights' Entertainments," where

"The blazing glories, with a cheerful ray,
Supply the sun, and counterfeit the day."

Grosely, in his "Tour to London,"[4] says, (relating to Ranelagh and
Vauxhall,) "These entertainments, which begin in the month of May, are
continued every night. They bring together persons of all ranks and
conditions; and amongst these, a considerable number of females, whose
charms want only that cheerful air, which is the flower and quintessence
of beauty. These places serve equally as a rendezvous either for
business or intrigue. They form, as it were, private coteries; there you
see fathers and mothers, with their children, enjoying domestic
happiness in the midst of public diversions. The English assert, that
such entertainments as these can never subsist in France, on account of
the levity of the people. Certain it is, that those of Vauxhall and
Ranelagh, which are guarded only by outward decency, are conducted
without tumult and disorder, which often disturb the public diversions