254 SIGNS AND SEASONS 



might be done to relieve the flatness of our pine- 

 box houses by more frankness and boldness in this 

 respect. If the eye could see more fully the neces- 

 sities of the case, — how the thing stood up and was 

 held together, that it was not pasteboard, that it 

 did not need to be anchored against the wind, etc., 

 — it would be a relief. Hence the lively pleasure 

 we feel in what are called " timber- houses, " and in 

 every architectural device by which the anatomy, 

 the real framework, of the structure, inside or out, 

 is allowed to show, or made to serve as ornament. 

 The eye craves lines of strength, evidence of weight 

 and stability. But in the wooden house, as usually 

 treated, these lines are nearly all concealed, the ties 

 and supports are carefully suppressed, and the eye 

 must feed on the small, fine lines of the finish. 

 When the mere outlines of the frame are indicated, 

 so that the larger spaces appear as panels, it is a 

 great help; or let any part of the internal economy 

 show through, and the eye is interested, as the 

 projection of the chimney-stack in brick or stone 

 houses, or the separating of the upper from the 

 main floor by a belt and slight projection, or by 

 boldly projecting the chamber floor- joist, and let- 

 ting one story overlap the other. 



As I have already said, herein is the main reason 

 of the picturesqueness of the stone house above all 

 others. Every line is a line of strength and neces- 

 sity. We see how the mass stands up; how it is 

 bound and keyed and fortified. The construction 

 is visible; the corners are locked by header and 



