GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. 9 



where the bold-swelling hills, crowned with 

 their decorated mansions, gradually descend- 

 ing into the wooded vale, enlivened by vil- 

 lage and hamlet of peculiar neatness, form 

 altogether a combination of beauty, richness, 

 and comfort, which at the same time delights 

 the eye, and awakens the mind to a train of 

 interesting reflections. 



This occasional mixture of character in the 

 scenery will naturally influence the character 

 of the building to be erected upon it ; other 

 circumstances, also, will have their due weight 

 on the question : moreover, it will be remem- 

 bered that hints, and not rules, are here sug- 

 gested, with a view of preventing the more 

 flagrant violations of harmony between the 

 house and the scenery round it. 



In adapting, then, a mansion to a grand 

 situation, the choice of building would, I 

 conceive, be principally influenced by the 

 character of the immediate ground on which 

 the house was to be placed. If that consisted 

 of gentle undulations, with sufficient extent 

 of lawns, shrubberies, &c., I should prefer a 

 Grecian elevation: if, on the contrary, the 

 site for the buildino; were of limited extent 

 and abrupt character, I should esteem it bet- 



