The Emhellishment of Dwellings. 447 



with the dust of the street. That tangled confusion, which 

 is so delightful in the wild pastures, may be perfectly dis- 

 gusting immediately about one's doorstep. But this baldness, 

 which it is truly desirable to avoid, ought to be relieved by a 

 honeysuckle, or some kind of climbing plant, trained over 

 each door. Vinery does not conceal from sight either the 

 house and its proportions or its enclosures, and a few festoons 

 over each of the porches, if more could not be properly kept, 

 would be sufficient to produce the desired effect. Let the 

 house stand as far as practicable from the street ; let the trees 

 be so far from the house as not to hide it, and have likewise 

 ample room to extend their branches ; let the house standing 

 on a clear open lawn be tastefully ornamented with vines, in 

 such a manner as to improve the architectural beauty which 

 it may possess, and the whole place would have a charming 

 effect On the mind of every beholder. 



A profusion of beautiful ornaments, even if they were as 

 easily procured and as cheaply maintained, are not to be pre- 

 ferred to good picturesque effects, whenever the latter are 

 practicable. In a crowded street they cannot be obtained, 

 and here therefore is the place for ornamental architecture. 

 Just in proportion as the beautiful is sought, expense must be 

 lavished. The most desirable picturesque effects, on the 

 other hand, are compatible with plainness and simplicity. 

 They may also be maintained with comparatively little ex- 

 pense. Beauty is more complicated, more luxurious and 

 more costly. Picturesque effects, however, require a higher 

 exercise of the faculty of taste. Any body who has money 

 enough can make a beautiful and showy house, by means of 

 sculptured and architectural decorations. He can do the 

 same with his enclosures. By a profusion of sculpture, and 

 a variety of flowers geometrically arranged, he may produce 

 very dazzling effects without one particle of genius. But 

 one must be possessed of the true genius of a painter, to make 

 such an arrangement of the house and outbuildings, grounds, 

 trees and shrubbery, as, without any great lavishment of 

 money, to produce that indescribable charm which shall de- 

 light every eye. We see but very few such places, for the 



