Architecture in the United States. 231 



not seen it, will perhaps represent to himself now, a magnificent 

 jet, sending up its waters to dance and sparkle in the sun; but 

 it is not so. There are magnificent jets at Rome : those before 

 St. Peter's are the most splendid that can be imagined. But the 

 fountain of Trevi simply pours forth its waters amid moss and rocks, 

 and they are apparently left to gush or trickle down the descents as 

 they can best find channels. It is beautiful because it is natural. 

 There is seemingly no art about it, except in some sculpture among 

 the rocks, which few people look at, and which, when noticed, are 

 felt to detract from the beauty of the scene. The whole of it seems 

 to have cost little labor to the architect; and yet there is proba- 

 bly no fountain at Rome that has cost more : any one can form a 

 jet, if he can but have the mechanical power; he can form a splen- 

 did one if the power is great, and money can make it so : but money 

 could not have formed the fountain of Trevi, and there are few ar- 

 chitects whose minds are equal to such an effort. But let us turn to 

 our own country. We shall soon have public fountains; we should 

 have them now, for while they contribute to the health and cleanli- 

 ness of a city, they are also a tribute of humanity which the wealthy 

 owe to the poor. When we have them, I hope, in the first place, that 

 we shall not have jets from the mouths of turtles, or sea monsters, or 

 elephants, or swans, or any thing of the kind. The idea is almost 

 vulgar and disgusting; it is at least unnatural, and what is unnatural 

 can never be in good taste. A jet need not throw up a large body 

 of water ; some of the most beautiful I have seen consist of but a 

 small streak ; but the height should always be considerable ; a jet of 

 a few feet will always be regarded as an attempt at the wonderful, 

 when we have not the means of attaining it. Generally, whatever 

 may be the mechanical power in our possession, it will be preferable 

 to let the water take the course it always takes in nature : mossy 

 rocks, grottoes, if they can be employed, green waving grass, and 

 overshadowing trees, will make for us a more beautiful and a far 

 cheaper fountain than is any jet which the world has ever seen. 

 Tritons, mermaids, sea-horses, and such like, should be carefully 

 excluded. Why have sea-horses or tritons, appearing to flounder 

 in a shallow basin a few yards in diameter, and this in fresh water 

 too? Why place a portly Neptune, provided with trident and other 

 paraphernalia, to preside over what is only a good sized punch bowl? 

 The thing is ridiculous, and can be tolerated only where good taste 

 is left behind and where people are doing violence to their nature in 



