341 



from its neatness and colour, is remarkably 

 pleasing. It is~no less picturesque, when 

 mossy, ragged, and sunk in among the 

 rafters in decay ; a species of that charac- 

 ter, however, which the keenest lover of it, 

 would rather see on another's property than 

 on his own. But between the two periods of 

 neatness, and of picturesque decay, particu- 

 larly in the approach towards the latter, 

 thatch has something of a damp dirty \oo\l; 

 and, what would often induce me to prefer 

 tile or slate, that dampness is increased both 

 in reality and appearance, by trees or climbs 

 ing plants hanging or creeping over it : 

 whereas any covering of a hard material, 

 may without injury be half concealed by 

 either of them ; and it rarely happens that 

 there is any thing in the look of a cover- 

 ing, that could make one regret its partial 

 concealment. 



In all that relates to cottages, hamlets, 

 and villages, to the grouping of them, and 

 their mixture with trees and climbing plants, 

 the best instruction may be gained from the 

 works of the Dutch and Flemish masters; 



