TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 295 



every few rods, a new turn in the walk opens a new 

 prospect to the beholder, and " leads the eye," as Hogarth 

 graphically expressed it, " a kind of wanton chase/' con- 

 tinually affording new refreshment and variety. 



Fences are often among the most unsightly and offensive 

 objects in our country seats. Some persons appear to 

 have a passion for subdividing their grounds into a great 

 number of fields; a process which is scarcely ever 

 advisable even in common farms, but for which there can 

 be no apology in elegant residences. The close proximity 

 of fences to the house gives the whole place a confined 

 and mean character. " The mind," says Repton, " feels a 

 certain disgust under a sense of confinement in any 

 situation, however beautiful." A wide-spread lawn, on the 

 contrary, where no boundaries are conspicuous, conveys 

 an impression of ample extent and space for enjoyment. 

 It is frequently the case that, on that side of the house 

 nearest the outbuildings, fences are, for convenience, 

 brought in its close neighborhood, and here they are easily 

 concealed by plantations ; but on the other sides, open and 

 unobstructed views should be preserved, by removing all 

 barriers not absolutely necessary. 



Nothing is more common, in the places of cockneys who 

 become inhabitants of the country, than a display imme- 

 diately around the dwelling of a spruce paling of carpentry, 

 neatly made, and painted white or green ; an abomination 

 atrior.g the fresh fields, of which no person of taste could 

 be guilty. To fence off a small plot around a fine house, 

 in the midst of a lawn of fifty acres, is a perversity which 

 we could never reconcile, with even the lowest perception 

 of beauty. An old stone wall covered with creepers and 

 climbing plants, may become a picturesque barrier a 



