The Winning Designs 



should not be adopted without careful thought. The 

 first is the junction of the pergola to the house. The 

 idea of focusing the view from the drawing-room win- 

 dow is in itself good, but to construct a pergola to 

 cover that window would, I think, be obtaining a desir- 

 able effect at too great a cost in light and air. There 

 are many methods of treating this ' ' foreground ' ' in 

 such a picture that would prove less oppressive in the 

 general effect, and would answer every purpose ; but 

 I shall have an opportunity in a later chapter of refer- 

 ring to this again. 



The second feature of doubtful wisdom is the 

 arrangement of stepping-stones across the lawn. I 

 hardly think they would add anything of beauty to the 

 garden. In damp weather there are other dry paths 

 by which the garden could be crossed, so they are 

 unnecessary. To introduce them merely for the sake 

 of having stepping-stones is to depart from that defini- 

 tion of beauty of Emerson's that I have already quoted, 

 " which has no superfluous parts, which exactly 

 answers its end." 



My third objection is to the position of the seat near 

 the road, although in this case there is better means of 

 seclusion from the road arranged for than in the case 

 of the one I criticized in Chapter IV. The front gar- 

 den here is decidedly simple. Most readers will, I 

 think, prefer something with a little more to interest 

 visitors approaching the door than a plot of plain grass, 

 bisected by a paved path, and enclosed by a line of 

 golden privet. I think even an exceedingly well- 

 designed house might look better if some little relief 

 were given in the way of additional vegetation here, 



