The Embellishment of Dwellings. 443 



Such builders fancy themselves guided by taste, while they 

 are only aping what they cannot successfully imitate. It 

 should be a rule with all who are going to build or decorate 

 a house, to take their models from cheaper houses, than such 

 as they can afford to build, and improve upon them. The 

 contrary rule is their present guide. They take an expensive 

 house for their model, and make up in sham what they cannot 

 afford in perfection. Such houses are sufficiently numerous 

 in this country to destroy the picturesque effects of our land- 

 scapes ; for nothing is so ridiculous as the result of an unsuc- 

 cessful attempt. 



That sort of neatness which is compatible with a simple 

 and natural appearance of one's enclosures, may be preserved 

 comparatively with little labor or cost. To preserve neatness, 

 on the other hand, in the midst of costly and luxurious em- 

 bellishments, whether rural or architectural, requires the con- 

 stant employment of proportional labor and expense. The 

 man of moderate means, therefore, who imitates the wealthy 

 by a profusion of architectural ornaments, shrubbery and 

 flowers, must imitate them still further by hiring laborers to 

 keep them in decent trim. On this account, it is advisable 

 for every one to consider, when laying out his grounds, 

 whether he is not providing either for a constant source of 

 expense, or a yard full of litter and deformity. Let one by 

 these means strive to attain picturesque effects, and leave 

 more costly decorations to those who can pay for them, and 

 he would derive vastly more satisfaction from the results. 



It is the habit of overlooking these considerations that 

 causes so much slovenliness about the enclosures of most of 

 our houses in the country. The owner has commenced by 

 laying out more work than he can afford to perform. As the 

 majority of men who own houses cannot afford to hire much 

 labor, it is reasonable to inquire what is the best method of 

 decorating them and their enclosures with the least expense 

 and the happiest effects. Fortunately that style which is the 

 most delightful to contemplate, though not the most dazzling 

 to the eye, is that which is most favorable to the economy 

 of labor and expense. 



