Theory and Practice 175 



ance to preserve in this, every vestige of ancient or 

 hereditary dignity ; and I should feel it a kind of sacri- 

 lege in taste to destroy an atom of that old, ruinous, 

 and almost uninhabitable mansion at Riig, if it were 

 to be replaced by one of those gaudy scarlet houses, 

 which we see spring up, like mushrooms, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of large manufacturing towns. 1 am, how- 

 ever, restrained from indulging to its full extent my 

 veneration for antiquity, by reflecting that modern 

 comfort and convenience are the first objects to be con- 

 sulted in the improvement of a modern residence; and 

 therefore I trust I shall neither incur the censure of 

 those who know and feel the comforts of the age we 

 live in nor offend the genius of the place by " call- 

 ing from the vasty deep the angry spirits" of Owen 

 Glendwr of Burgontumi, who formerly inhabited this 

 domain. 



In a country like that of North Wales, abounding in 

 magnificent scenery, the views from the house should 

 rather aim at comfort and appropriation of landscape 

 than extensive prospect ; because the latter may be had 

 from every field or public road on the mountains, and 

 the attempt to make a large park or domain would be 

 fruitless where a lawn of a thousand acres would appear 

 but a small spot, compared with the wide expanse of 

 country seen from the neighbouring hills. I should there- 

 fore advise the lawn to be confined within the compass 

 of forty or fifty acres ; yet from the variety of its surface 

 and the diversity of objects it contains there will be more 

 real beauty and even magnificence within this small 

 enclosure than in other parks of many hundred acres. 



However partial we may be to grand and extensive 

 prospects, they are never advisable for the situation of a 

 house, in which convenience and comfort should doubt- 



