THE COUNTRY HOME [cHaPTrER 
point they would give you a view of your house, 
and of your property so far as possible; and they 
would pick up beautiful outlooks in the valley be- 
low, or into some adjacent or distant landscape. 
A group of shrubs will cause a bend in the road; 
then you pass through a grove possibly, under an 
old linden, or around a Kentucky coffee tree with 
its strange armlets drooping down almost to the 
ground. 
I do not argue that a poor man should trace out 
long drives and make picturesqueness the domin- 
ant idea in creating a country homestead. Yet the 
poorest resident in the country cannot afford to 
omit a regard for the beautiful. In the long run 
the cheapest place gains in money value by having 
sacrificed a little in the way of making things pleas- 
ant to the eye. “‘ Well, sor,”’ says a neighbor from 
Erin, “says I to Margaret, ‘I'll not say but the pig 
will have as good digestion a little out of the sight 
of the people, and a few roses in his place.’ And 
Margaret, says she, ‘I’ve a feeling we needn’t make 
ourselves conspicuous for weeds and frog holes.’ So 
betwixt us we just imitated the fine places upon the 
hill; and, sor, now we can think beautiful things 
ourselves.” My Irish friend hit the mark pre- 
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