336 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



assists in making- up the charm of the whole : the ^ently 

 swelling slope reaching down to the water's edge, bordered 

 by prettily wooded ravines through which a brook meanders 

 pleasantly ; and threaded by foot-paths ingeniously contrived 

 so as sometimes to afford secluded walks, and at others to 

 allow fine vistas of the broad expanse of river scenery. 



Mr. Sheldon's residence, (fig. 38,) in the same neighbour- 

 hood, furnishes us with another example of the Rural Gothic 

 mode, worth the stady of the amateur. Captain Perry's 

 spirited cottage near Sing Sing, partakes of the same features ; 

 and we might add numerous other cottages now building, or 

 in contemplation, which show how fast the feeling for some- 

 thing more expressive and picturesque, is making progress 

 among us. 



It is the common practice here to place a portion of what 

 are called the domestic offices, as the kitchen, pantries, etc., 

 in the basement story of the house, directly beneath the liv- 

 ing rooms. This has partly arisen from the circumstance of 

 the comparative economy of this method of constructing them 

 under the same roof; and partly from the difficulty of ad- 

 ding wings to the main building for those purposes which 

 will not not mar the simplicity and elegance of a Grecian 

 villa. In the better class of houses in England, the domestic 

 offices, which include the kitchen and its appurtenances, and 

 also the stable, coach-house, harness-room, etc. are in the 

 majority of cases attached to the main body of the building 

 on one side. The grreat advantao^e of havinsf all these con- 

 veniences on the same floor with the principal rooms, and 

 communicating in such a way as to be easily accessible at 

 all times without going into the open air, is undeniable. It 

 must also be admitted that these domestic offices, extend- 

 ing out from the main building, partly visible and partly 



