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the mansion, and divide the attention, but 

 the meanest offices may be made to con- 

 tribute to the character of the whole, and 

 to raise, not degrade, the principal part: 

 the difference of expence between good 

 and bad forms, is comparatively trifling ; 

 the difference in their appearance immense. 



Another cause of this naked appearance, 

 is the change in the style of gardening. 

 While the old style subsisted, the various 

 architectural ornaments, the terraces, sum- 

 mer-houses, and even the walls, as varied 

 by different heights and breaks, took off 

 from the insulated look of the house. On 

 that account, however stiff and formal the 

 gardens themselves, the whole composition 

 was much less so than at present, when 

 from that love of extreme simplicity, as 

 well as of smoothness and undulation, the 

 pasture ground frequently comes up to the 

 hall door ; so that a palace seems placed in 

 a field, while the palace itself, in point of 

 effect, is a mere elevation.* 



* The appearance of one of these houses has often 

 brought to my mind that part of the story of Aladdin, 



