250 SIGNS AND SEASONS 



of the beholder. Some things, on the other hand, 

 as flowers, foliage, brilliant colors, sunsets, rain- 

 bows, waterfalls, may be said to be beautiful in 

 and of themselves; but how wearisome the world 

 would be without the vast negative background 

 upon which these things figure, and which provokes 

 and stimulates the mind in a way the purely fair 

 forms do not! 



How we are drawn by that which retreats and 

 hides itself, or gives only glimpses and half views! 

 Hence the value of trees as a veil to an ugly orna- 

 mental house, and the admirable setting they form 

 to the picturesque habitation I am contemplating. 

 But the house the heart builds, whether it be cot- 

 tage or villa, can stand the broad, open light with- 

 out a screen of any kind. Its neutral gray or 

 brown tints, its wide projections and deep shadows, 

 its simple strong lines, its coarse open-air quality, 

 its ample roof or roofs, blend it with the landscape 

 wherever it stands. Such a house seems to retreat 

 into itself, and invites the eye to follow. Its inte- 

 rior warmth and coziness penetrate the walls, and 

 the eye gathers suggestions of them at every point. 



We can miss almost anything else from a build- 

 ing rather than a look of repose. This it must 

 have. Give it a look of repose, and all else shall 

 be added. This is the supreme virtue in architec- 

 ture. Go to the city, walk up and down the prin- 

 cipal thoroughfares, and see what an effort many of 

 the buildings make to stand up! What columns 

 and arches they put forth where no columns or 



