LINE OF THE APPROACH. 25 



desigriiiio: them the result aimed at should be a united 

 and well-balanced group. When the approach is short, 

 there is a greater necessity for an exact similaiitv of 

 style between the enti^ance buildings and those of the 

 mansion-house. The gate should stand at right angles 

 to the line of the approach, and should be placed suffi- 

 ciently back from the centre of the pubhc road, when 

 one passes in front of it, as not only to enable a carriage 

 to stand clear of the road and the gate while the latter 

 is opening, but to turn easily into it. It also conduces 

 to convenient attendance on the gate, that the lodge is 

 famished ^^ith a window which commands a xievr of a 

 carriage coming from the house some time before it 

 reaches the gate. 



Line of the Approach through the Park. — ^ATien a 

 judicious site for the entrance-gate has been selected, a 

 good starting point for the approach has been obtained. 

 After passing the gateway, it should proceed at right 

 angles to the line of the gate for a short distance, the 

 length of this part being regulated in some measure by 

 the natm-e of the ground and the extent of the park. It 

 may then tm-n off towards the mansion-house, in a line, 

 of which we may remark generally, that though it may 

 not be the shortest that can be formed, it should cer- 

 tainly not be unnecessaiily prolonged. A straight line, 

 it is well known, is the least possible distance, and per- 

 sons in haste natm-ally take it ; except on level surfaces, 

 however, it can rarely be adopted even on the public 

 highways, where rapid locomotion is most desirable, and 

 considerable detours are often made to avoid the retard- 

 ing effect of steep inchnations. In the park, as now 

 laid out, the straight Mne is seldom employed, as it 

 cannot be introduced without a stiff and bald appear- 



c 



