MR. URBAN AND A COUNTRY HOUSE 



the one that he would have chosen; but the 

 poor draggled bit of shrubbery and the mossy 

 cherry-trees that stand near give to it a pleas- 

 ant homeliness of aspect, with which any new 

 site with its raw upturned gravels and fresh- 

 planted shrubs must for a long time contrast 

 very painfully. Thus the question comes up 

 — more appealingly every day he looks on 

 it, Will not the old hulk do with a little 

 modernizing? And the thought of putting 

 a new, jaunty look upon the old tame outline 

 of building, has something in it that is very 

 captivating. 



This suggests our first topic of discussion — 

 Is it wise to undertake the repair of an old 

 country house? The builder or the architect, 

 eager for a fat job, will say no : the mistress, 

 with a settled distaste for low ceilings and 

 wavy floors that tell fearfully upon the car- 

 pets, will say no: but a practical man will be 

 guided in his decision by the condition of the 

 building, and by the range of the proposed 

 changes. Two or three axioms in connection 

 with this subject it may be worth while to 

 bear in mind. First: it is never quite possi- 

 ble to make an altogether new house out of an 

 old one. Second : it is the most difficult thing 

 in the world to determine in advance the cost 



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