MR. URBAN AND A COUNTRY HOUSE. 253 



the thought of putting a new, jaunty look upon the 

 old tame outline of building, has something in it that 

 is very captivating. 



This suggests our first topic of discussion Is it 

 wise to undertake the repair of an old country house ? 

 The builder or the architect, eager for a fat job, will 

 say no : the mistress, with a settled distaste for low 

 ceilings and wavy floors that tell fearfully upon the 

 carpets, will say no : but a practical man will be 

 guided in his decision by the condition of the build- 

 ing, and by the range of the proposed changes. Two 

 or three axioms in connection with this subject it 

 may be worth while to bear in mind. First: it is 

 never quite possible to make an altogther new house 

 out of an old one. Second : it is the most difficult 

 thing in the world to determine in advance the cost 

 or limit of the proposed repairs to an old country 

 house. Third : it is altogether impossible to say in 

 advance that any system of change, however deliber- 

 ately considered, will prove ultimately satisfactory to 

 the (female) occupants. 



These truisms would seem to count against the 

 undertaking to remodel an old house : yet there are 

 conditions which make it eminently wise, as well in a 

 practical as in an aesthetic point of view. 



If, for instance, the walls be of stone or brick, and 

 not wholly inconsiderable in extent, it would be bad 



