Rural Homes. 181 



common: those whose means have enabled them to claim ownership in 

 some lovely garden-spot of this beautiful country, have no right to mar the 

 fair harmony of nature by the intrusion of a discord of their own. The 

 purchasers of land, therefore, in the country, cannot, in building themselves 

 a home, follow the bent of their own inclinations so entirely as many would 

 have us suppose. A man has no right to disfigure some noble scene by an 

 unharmonious dwelling : how often this has been done, those who have 

 rambled on the banks of the Hudson (this but as an example near home) 

 can testify. Congruity between home and landscape is secured by no 

 necessarily-increased expenditure. On the contrary, those buildings of 

 most economical and simple character generally possess the charm of fitness 

 which costly structures attempt in vain. 



Undoubtedly, the excellence and charm of a home consist in the perfect 

 keeping of the artificial construction with the natural objects and the scen- 

 ery around. The uniform Palladian Villa, that would be out of place in the 

 mountain gorge, or beside the rocky glen and leaping torrent, will be per- 

 fectly in congruity with broad lawns, grouped trees, smooth, widely-stretch- 

 ing glades, and the placid lake. This perfect congruity between homo and 

 scenery would be easy of attainment, if the operations of deciding the char- 

 acter and arrangement of the building were less mechanical. The owner 

 of the ground is generally content, if the builder to whom he shows his 

 plans tells him he can deliver to him, by a certain day, and for so much 

 money, a house like the one delineated. IIow have these plans been prob- 

 ably obtained ? If the gentleman or lady about to build possess at all a 

 literary, or even only a picture-book-loving taste, some " Architectural De- 

 sign-Book for the Million" has been turned over, and, after many tea-table 

 discussions upon the merits of the " Swiss Cottage" style, the " Anglo-Nor- 

 man," the " Etruscan," or the " Castellated Gothic," some pretty picture- 

 house has been selected. Armed with that, an architect from the city has 

 been called upon, the picture shown to him, the ground-plan of the house 

 determined, and, finally, a " set of drawings" engaged to be furnished by a 

 certain day, and at a stipulated price. 



Probably even this small call upon professional aid would not have been 

 made, had not the builder advised to get some " architect" to " draft the 

 plans," knowing that even the most wretchedly slender skeleton of a plan, 

 if framed by a draughtsman, will be easier to work from than the artistic 

 performances of the amateur employer. The architect has neither a voice 

 nor an interest in the matter, — the drawings are ordered and paid for, as a 

 bale of goods. He has not seen the spot selected for the building ; knows 

 nothing of the tastes or habits of life of its future occupants, and is natu- 

 rally only desirous to get the job done as quickly as possible, knowing, by 

 past experience, that, should he venture any departure from the instructions 

 given him, — however essential they may, to his cultivated judgment, seem, 

 — the drawings will probably be returned to him for correction, and his la- 

 bor lost. How tame, common-place, and unsuitable the building must be, 

 when erected, my readers will be able to judge. What, then, should be 

 done ? 



