ENTBANCE LODGE. 373 



not such as to raise false expectations of the magnitude and importance of 

 the house ; at the same time, no lodge whatever ought to be so small as to 

 raise doubts in the spectator of its being a comfortable habitation for a human 

 being. This idea ought to be borne constantly in mind, as well as those 

 which respect style ; for few things connected with an elegant countr)' resi- 

 dence are more offensive to a humane mind, than to see boxes set down as 

 lodges, not more, perhaps, than 10 ft. or 12 ft. square, with rooms not above 

 7 ft. high in the clear. When this is the case, and the occupant has children, 

 he is sometimes obliged to live with half his family in a box on one side of 

 the gate, and to send the other half to sleep in a box on the other side. 



460. Gates. — Whether a gate ought to be of open work that may be seen 

 through, or of close boards so as to obstruct the view, is a question that has 

 reference chiefly to places in the immediate vicinity of towns. In all coun- 

 try residences, there can be no objection to the gates being of open work ; and 

 there is an advantage to the public in their being so, as it enables the passing 

 stranger to form some idea of the place, and also tends to ornament the 

 country. On the other hand, it seems equally clear that the gates of most 

 small places near towns ought to be close ; because one great object of every 

 country residence is privacy, and, in a small place, without close gates, pri- 

 vacy is impossible. At the same time, in residences near towns, where the 

 house forms part of a street or row, and where the entrance door is only a few 

 yards from the road, an open gate allows the servants to see any person who 

 may ring, either from the entrance door or the kitchen window ; and thus 

 enables them to avoid losing their time by going to open the gate for beggars 

 and other inti'uders. In similar situations, it is often convenient, when there 

 are close gates, to have a small grating, with a slide within, in order to per- 

 mit the servant to speak to any person calling at the gate before opening it. 

 A door is also sometimes made in the carriage gate, to facilitate the ingress 

 and egress of persons without opening the entire gate. Close gates may, 

 also, be sometimes desirable in point of eflfect, even where they are not 

 required to insure privacy. Wherever there is any very striking object within 

 the grounds, which can be seen froin the entrance gate to better advantage 

 than it can be from any other situation, then we should say that a close gate 

 was desirable ; in order that the effect of the object alluded to might not be 

 marred to a stranger, by his seeing it imperfectly before he entered the 

 grounds, and thus getting his first impressibn of it disfigured by the bars of 

 the open gate. At Blenheim, a more striking view of the lake and bridge 

 than is to be obtained in any other part of the grounds, bursts upon the eye 

 of the stranger, when the close gates at Woodstock are thrown open ; but if 

 open bars were substituted for these heavy doors, the spectator would see the 

 lake and bridge first through them, and the striking effect, which now pro- 

 duces a strong emotion of admiration and astonishment, would be frittered 

 away. 



461. The style of the entrance gates ought to be as much attended to as that 

 of the lodge. They ought neither to be so plain as to resemble common field 

 gates (see fig. 221), nor so covered with ornament as to be disproportionate 

 to the style of the house (see fig. 222). Whatever style is employed in the 

 house and lodge, the lines, forms, and ornaments of that style ought alone to 

 be employed in the gates. In the case of houses in the Elizabethan, or in 

 the Gothic style, this would give rise to many rich and beautiful designs ; 



