Sf3e anb TBxtcnt of an Estate 79 



a pretty garland of flowers and herbs round the 

 whole village. What crowns the whole is, that the 

 inhabitants are all poor families, whom the generous 

 proprietor allows to live in the houses rent free. No 

 more delightful or well chosen spot could be foimd 

 as a refuge for misfortune: its perfect seclusion and 

 snugness breathe only peace and forgetfulness of the 

 world." 



On the other hand, when we turn to larger places, 

 twenty acres or many thousands of acres, the same prin- 

 ciples apply to the architectural and thenatural features, 

 to the high and low, and broad and narrow masses, 

 related and contrasted in a hundred ways. The house, 

 the barns and stables, vegetable gardens, are all given 

 due attention on their practical side, for use as well as 

 for beauty, — ^nothing forced, nothing seemingly meant 

 for display, dignified, noble, grand if you will, but never 

 a sense of strain, although full of nuances, full of deli- 

 cate elusive beauties. One great picture, or a series 

 of attractive small lawns and glades, now various, now 

 contradictory, and now contrasting. 



Here are two not altogether imaginary instances. 

 One is a charming villa with beautiful outlooks in 

 various directions over Florence and the Amo. The 

 setting is formal, rightly, and highly decorative, for it 

 is a part of the Boboli Gardens. Fountains, beauti- 

 ful trees, everything choice and charming. But it is 

 chiefly as a foreground to many views that we value 

 it. One sits and feasts the eyes and mind on the lovely 



