250 SIGNS AND SEASONS 



of tlie beholder. Some things, on the other hand, 

 as flowers, foliage, brilliant colors, sunsets, rain- 

 bows, waterfalls, may be said to be beautiful in 

 and of themselves; but how wearisome the world 

 would be without the vast negative background 

 upon which these things figure, and which provokes 

 and stimulates the mind in a way the purely fair 

 forms do not! 



How we are drawn by that which retreats and 

 hides itself, or gives only glimpses and half views ! 

 Hence the value of trees as a veil to an ugly orna- 

 mental house, and the admirable setting they form 

 to the picturesque habitation I am contemplating. 

 But the house the heart builds, whether it be cot- 

 tage or villa, can stand the broad, open light with- 

 out a screen of any kind. Its neutral gray or 

 brown tints, its wide projections and deep shadows, 

 its simple strong lines, its coarse open-air quality, 

 its ample roof or roofs, blend it with the landscape 

 wherever it stands. Such a house seems to retreat 

 into itself, and invites the eye to follow. Its inte- 

 rior warmth and coziness penetrate the walls, and 

 the eye gathers suggestions of them at every point. 



We can miss almost anything else from a build- 

 ing rather than a look of repose. This it must 

 have. Give it a look of repose, and all else shall 

 be added. This is the supreme virtue in architec- 

 ture. Go to the city, walk up and down the prin- 

 cipal thoroughfares, and see what an effort many of 

 the buildings make to stand up! What columns 

 and arches they put forth where no columns or 



