66 



relief of older styles before mankind became graphic. 

 Beautiful objects, beautiful ornaments should be kept in 

 place. It is an embarras to have too much even of a good 

 thing, to live in a museum. We cheapen all these things 

 by heaping them, and displaying them. The eye is wearied, 

 the taste surfeited. To live with such distractions is a 

 mistake akin to being always in romantic spots, pictur- 

 esque situations, the sublime, rough, wild or savage. It 

 is not for coustan^ contemplation. The mind wants sim- 

 plicity to dwell with, and nature in her every-day, her 

 morning gown. Grassy sweeps and turfy banks, trees, 

 flowers, shrubbery, and quiet dells and nooks. It strains 

 at the sublime and unusual, and is not always in a mood 

 of the picturesque. On the Beverly shore I prefer the 

 smooth places with roughness near. Nothing gives such 

 quiet satisfaction as grass, lawns, shrubs, habitableness. 

 A barberry bush is well enough, only not to live in. They 

 pall upon us. They are not for every day, and at alt 

 hours. There is delightful invention, the architect, the 

 decorator have all been at work. We are not left alone 

 a moment. They are alive all about us. It is charming, 

 what they have done to beguile monotony of its dulness, 

 tameness of its insipidity, and to stimulate surprise. They 

 besiege us, they must show off their hand. This will settle 

 down at last to some recognized styles having unity and 

 principle in them and repose. Now all is heterogeneous, 

 one almost says, mongrel, hybrid ornament at all haz- 

 ards. The world never saw such a chaos. Whims are 

 flying about like flies. Yet it is very delightful in parts, 

 and the freshness and independence are hopeful. 



Or MONUMENTS in Boston, this may be said, the largest 

 and most important is the cheapest commonplace. Bor- 

 rowed from a poor and late clerical monument at Rome 

 it worsens that. The figures are meagre, not monumental ; 



