APRIL. 175 



uniting art and nature in snch a manner is like affixing to a 

 marble bust the legs and arms of a real skeleton that it may 

 look more natural. This fact indicates that the designer had 

 obtained a glimpse of a truth which he did not perfectly 

 comprehend. He was studying to produce that very har- 

 mony which he had disturbed. Had he divested the cottage 

 of some of its showy ornaments, supported the piazza by 

 handsome architectural pillars, painted the whole with some 

 agreeable neutral tint, and surrounded it with trees or fes- 

 tooned it with vines, the effect which he sought would prob- 

 ably have been attained. 



The error into which the public has fallen is not that of 

 paying too much respect to the rules of taste in architecture, 

 but that of overlooking every consideration save the beauty 

 of the house, not seeming to understand that an object intrin- 

 sically beautiful may be offensive when out of its proper 

 place. The sweetest notes that ever issued from a flute 

 would grate upon the ear like harsh discords, if it were not 

 in tune with the other instruments of the band. In the con- 

 struction of a dwelling-house, and indeed of every other 

 edifice, there are three important requisites to be considered. 

 The first is utility and convenience, the second expression, 

 the third architectural beauty and proportion. No one of 

 these requisites should be abandoned for the sake of another. 

 But connoisseurs are too apt to sacrifice the two former for 

 the sake of the latter : to overlook " the end of the art for 

 the display of the art itself ;" like a band of expert fiddlers, 

 who, having no poetry in their own souls, strive not to 

 awaken deep or tender emotions in the minds of their audi- 

 ence, but aim only to excite astonishment by the display of 

 their skill in musical jugglery. 



The majority of those who build houses are affected by 

 this error. Every man seems to be vying with his neighbors 

 in endeavoring to build the most showy house. Hence we 

 are witness to all sorts of extravagances. Btit among the 

 thousand different styles of building exhibited in our land, 

 people will gradually learn to appreciate those which afford 

 the most permanent satisfaction. The true models for our 



