RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 349 



adopted, not only appears in the two ends of the main 

 building, but terminates every wing or projection of almost 

 any size that joins to the principal body of the house. The 

 gables are either of stone or brick, with a handsome 

 moulded coping, or they are finished with the widely pro- 

 jecting roof of wood, and verge boards, carved in a fanciful 

 and highly decorative shape. In either case, the point or 

 apex is crowned by a finial, or ornamental octagonal shaft, 

 rendering the gable one of the greatest sources of interest 

 in these dwellings. The projecting roof renders the walls 

 always dry. 



The porch, the labelled windows, the chimney shafts, 

 and the ornamented gables, being the essential features in 

 the composition of the English cottage style, it is evident 

 that this mode of building is highly expressive of purpose, 

 for country residences of almost every description and size, 

 from the humblest peasant's cottage, to the beautiful and 

 picturesque villa of the retired gentleman of fortune. In 

 the simple form of the cottage, the whole may be con- 

 structed of wood very cheaply, and in the more elaborate 

 villa residence, stone, or brick and cement, may be preferred, 

 as being more permanent. No style so readily admits of 

 enrichment as that of the old English cottage when on a 

 considerable scale ; and by the addition of pointed verandas, 

 bay windows, and dormer-windows, by the introduction of 

 mullions and tracery in the window openings, and indeed, 

 by a multitude of interior and exterior enrichments gene- 

 rally applied to the Tudor mansions, a villa in the rural 

 Gothic style may be made a perfect gem of a country 

 residence. Of all the styles hitherto enumerated, we con- 

 sider this one of the most suitable for this country, as, 

 while it comes within the reach of all persons <"f moderate 



