TO HOHENBURG AND KREUTH. 203 



stuff than it really is ; nor, above all, are forms or a 

 construction attempted, characteristic of, and legiti- 

 mately belonging to, some other material. The house 

 always looks what it is, the house of a peasant built of 

 wood, fetched perhaps from the neighbouring forest ; 

 nor does it pretend to be anything more. 



With the ornamental part of these buildings it is 

 the same. Here "ornament" is no extraneous thing, 

 but belongs exclusively to, and springs naturally 

 from, this style of architecture. Hence the circum- 

 stance that these buildings have a peculiar and de- 

 cided expression, as much and exclusively their own 

 as that which marks the Greek, Moresque, or Pointed 

 style of architecture. The protruding beams naturally 

 suggest a rounding off into a more pleasing form ; in 

 the far-projecting water-spout is an opportunity for 

 carving some animal's head and throat ; and where the 

 converging lines of the gable meet, they are allowed 

 to run on, and crossing each other to present an 

 additional occasion for the introduction of some cha- 

 racteristic decoration. 



Colouring too is often used ; the shutters of the 

 lower windows will be pranked with a bright centre- 

 piece, while the balcony and the carved design that 

 gives such a finish to the projecting gable, will wear 

 perhaps a more sober brown. 



There is a great variety in these houses, yet every 

 ornament, however rude in execution, is always ap- 

 propriate to, and in harmony with, the dwelling it is 

 intended to adorn. The style of ornament too is 



