196 The Art of Landscape Gardening 



After long experiencing the many inconveniences to 

 which lofty situations are exposed ; after frequently wit- 

 nessing the repentance and vexation of those who have 

 hastily made choice of such situations, under the flatter- 

 ing circumstances of a clear atmosphere and brilliant 

 sky ; after observing how willingly they would exchange 

 prospect for shade and shelter, and, after vainly looking 

 forward to the effect of future groves, I am convinced 

 that it is better to decide the situation of a house when 

 the weather is unfavourable to distant prospects, and 

 when the judgement may be able to give its due weight 

 to every circumstance which ought to be considered in 

 so material an object, that the comforts of habitation 

 may not be sacrificed to the fascinating glare of a 

 summer's day. From these considerations, I do not 

 hesitate to assert that if no house existed at Michel 

 Grove, the sheltered situation of the present magnifi- 

 cent and singular mansion [Plate xviii] is greatly to be 

 preferred to any spot that could be found on the hill, 

 every part of which is more or less exposed to the 

 force of the winds from the southwest. I shall, there- 

 fore, inquire into the character of the present house, and 

 consider how far the old mansion may be rendered con- 

 venient and adapted to modern comforts. 



There are kw old mansions in England which have 

 not been either castles or monasteries altered into houses, 

 but there is no trace of this house ever having been 

 either ; and, indeed, its situation in a dry valley is unlike 

 that of any abbey, and it is so immediately commanded 

 by the surrounding hills that it never could have been 

 a castle or place of defence. 



The proposed addition of a drawing-room, an ante- 

 room, and an eating-room of large dimensions will alter 

 those relative proportions now so pleasing. It is not. 



