ON SIMPLE RURAL COTTAGES. 



107 



tage, of a few feet in length, gothicizcd by the 

 introduction of three or four pointed win- 

 dows, little gables enough for a residence of 

 the first class, and a profusion of thin 

 scolloped verge boards, looking more like 

 card ornaments, than the solid, heavy, 

 carved decorations proper to the style imi- 

 tated. 



Let those who wish to avoid such exhibi- 

 tions of bad taste, recur to some just and 

 correct principles on this subject. 



One of the soundest maxims ever laid 

 down on this subject, by our lamented friend 

 Loudon, (who understood as well as any 

 one that ever wrote on this subject its prin- 

 ciples,) was the following : " Nothing shx/idd 

 be introduced into any cottage design, however 

 ornamental it may appear, that is at variance 

 with propriety, comfort or soiaid work?nan- 

 ship.'" 



The chiefest objection that we make to 

 these over-decorated cottages of very small 

 size, (which we have now in view,) is that 

 the introduction of so much ornament is 

 evidently a violation of the principles oi pro- 

 priety. 



It cannot be denied by the least reflective 

 mind, that there are several classes of dwell- 

 ing houses in every country. The mansion 

 of the wealthy proprietor, which is filled 

 with pictures and statues, ought certainly 

 to have a superior architectural character 

 to the cottage of the industrious working- 

 man, who is just able to furnish a comforta- 

 ble home for his family. While the first is 

 allowed to display even an ornate style of 

 building, which his means will enable him 

 to complete and render somewhat perfect — 

 the other cannot adopt the same ornaments 

 without rendering a cottage, which might 

 be agreeable and pleasing, from its fitness 

 and genuine simplicity, offensive and dis- 

 tasteful through its ambitious borrowed de- 

 corations. 



By adopting such ornaments they must 

 therefore violate propriety, because, architec- 

 turally, it is not fitting that the humble cot- 

 tage should wear the decorations of a supe- 

 rior dwelling, any more than that the plain 

 workingman should wear the same diamonds 

 that represent the superfluous wealth of his 

 neighbor. In a cottage of the smallest 

 size, it is evident also, that, if its tenant is the 

 owner, he must make some sacrifice of com- 

 fort to produce efl^ect ; and he waives the 

 principle which demands sound workman- 

 ship, since to adopt any highly ornamental 

 style, the possessor of small means is 

 obliged to make those ornaments flimsy and 

 meagre, which ought to be substantial and 

 carefully executed. 



Do we then intend to say, that the hum- 

 ble cottage must be left bald and tasteless ? 

 By no means. We desire to see every ru- 

 ral dwelling in America tasteful. When 

 the intelligence of our active-minded peo- 

 ple has been turned in this direction long 

 enough, we are confident that this country 

 will more abound in beautiful rural dwell- 

 ings than any other part of the world. But 

 we wish to see the workingman's cottage 

 made tasteful in a simple and fit manner. 

 We wish to see him eschew all ornaments 

 that are inappropriate and unbecoming, and 

 give it a simple and pleasing character b}' 

 the use of truthful means. 



For the cottage of this class, we would 

 then entirely reject all attempts at columns 

 or verge boards.* If the owner can afford 

 it, we would, by all means, have a veranda 

 (piazza,) however small ; for we consider 

 that feature one afl^ording the greatest 



* Of course, these remarks regarding decorations do not 

 apply strictly to the case of collages for the tenaius, gardeners, 

 farmers, etc., of a large estate. In that case, such dwellings 

 form parts of a highly finished whole. The means of the 

 proprietor are sufficient to render them complete of their kind. 

 Yet even in this case, we much prefer a becorjiiiig simplicity 

 in the cottages of such a (Jesmesne. 



