Rural Cemeteries. 491 



is no feeling or sentiment which it is desirable to cherish, 

 that would not be heightened by a general expression' of 

 grandeur amid the scenes and objects of a rural cemetery. 



The question next arises by what means these two general 

 effects may be promoted. They come equally from the style 

 of laying out the grounds, and from that of the objects in- 

 cluded within them. It is evident that the desired expression 

 cannot be produced by tombs that are covered or surrounded 

 by ridiculous or meretricious embellishments. But there are, 

 unquestionably, certain decorations which serve their partic- 

 ular purpose of beautifying the monuments, without injuring 

 the unity of the whole scene. Such are all those emble- 

 matic designs which are characterized by simplicity. Sim- 

 plicity is not the same as barrenness. If it were so, there 

 would be more simplicity in a barren waste than in a field of 

 shrubs and flowers. Simple ornaments are such as do not 

 counteract the effect intended to be produced by the princi- 

 pal object, either by exciting opposite feelings, or by confusing 

 the thoughts. An illustration of this principle may be drawn 

 from music. 



The accompaniments of a simple air are necessary to add 

 grandeur to its expression. If these accompaniments are of 

 such a character as to give the air a still greater prominence 

 in the hearer's attention, they are compatible with the rule of 

 simplicity. But if, while they produce no matter what pleas- 

 ing effect, they drown the air, either by not harmonizing witli 

 the theme, or by exciting in the mind a different emotion from 

 that which should be awakened by the air, the accompani- 

 ments are in bad taste, and the opposite of simplicity. The 

 ornaments about a tomb should be emblematical or suggestive 

 of some pleasing moral or religious truth ; but like true wit, 

 they should be obvious and intelligible, and, like a correct 

 style of architecture, free from those trifles that serve to 

 divert the mind from the principal design. 



Nothing so greatly interferes with an expression of grandeur 

 as a multitude of small parts. It is on this account that a 

 grove of trees has more majesty when divested of its under- 

 growth than when thickly interwoven with shrubbery. In a 



