MR. URBAN AND A COUNTRY HOUSE 



either— least of all near to any body of fresh 

 water which from artificial causes is subject 

 to great inequalities of level, or which in the 

 heats of September may show a broad margin 

 of quagmire. Lakes are very beautiful, and 

 very healthful too, as God made them; but 

 when the manufacturers or the water com- 

 panies tap them, as they will most persistently 

 in the seasons of least rain, all their charm and 

 glory go sounding down the sluices. 



One would say too that a model country 

 house or an enjoyable one should be placed 

 upon such lift of ground as to give a good 

 honest out-look over meadow and wood, and 

 streaks of river (if such can be compassed). 

 The near sight of the roofs and towers of a 

 city, too, will give a good every-day feeling 

 of companionship with the world, without the 

 world's noises; and I am not sure but that a 

 spire or two lifting above trees or among trees 

 will breed a healthful religious habit in a man 

 — shining always in his eye — trim, solid ser- 

 mons — not smirched with the dust of ground- 

 ling conflicts, and (unlike many written ser- 

 mons) always carrying a good point in them. 

 There should be also some glimpse, if nothing 

 more, of one of the world's great highways; 

 a near railway is indeed terrific with its din, 



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