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it is in some degree subordinate and de- 

 pendant on the surrounding objects. This 

 distinction, though not sufficient to form a 

 separate class, ought not to be neglected ; 

 had it been attended to, so many square, 

 formal, unpicturesque houses of great ex- 

 pence, might not have encumbered the 

 scenes which thej^ were meant to adorn. I 

 am not surprised, however, that the style of 

 country houses should have been too indis- 

 criminately taken from those of towns. All 

 the fine arts have been brought to their 

 greatest perfection, where large bodies of 

 men have been settled together ; for wealth, 

 emulation, and comparison are necessary 

 to their growth : and of all the arts, archi' 

 tecture has most strikingly embellished the 

 places where it has flourished. In cities, 

 therefore, the greatest number and variety 

 of finished pieces of architecture are to be 

 found ; and it is not to be wondered at if 

 those houses, which in cities were with rea-? 

 son admired, should have been the objects 

 of general, and often of indiscriminate 

 imitation. 



