Author's Introduction 



Permit us to bring the beautiful also itito our de- 

 sign: for I do not see why we should disassociate the 

 beautiful from the useful, for what — to come to the 

 point — what is useful ? Merely what nourishes us, warms 

 us, and shelters us from the weather ? And why do we call 

 such things useful? Only because they tolerably ad- 

 vance the welfare of mankind? Yet the beautiful ad- 

 vances it in a far higher and greater degree ; therefore 

 among useful things the beautiful is the most useful of 

 all. (VoM Regieren, German Memoirs.) 



IN the greater part of Germany, it must be 

 admitted, we have scarcely yet awakened to 

 the practical and successful pursuit of utilities, and 

 but f^vJ^have directed their intelligence and ener- 

 gies, without consideration of advantage, to the 

 beautiful; a general, intelligent combination of 

 both aims is yet rarer. 



This applies most of all to every kind of landed 

 property, and it is certain that herein England 

 has advanced beyond our level of civilization by 

 nearly a century : what is there accomplished with 

 ease, here remains all but impracticable. 



But it is time that our well-to-do landowners 

 sought a closer rapprochement with the English 

 system and without slavish imitation studied 

 rather the intention than the form, always giving 

 due consideration to the conditions of locality. 



If I cite England as an example, it is not be- 



