Art Out-of-Doors 



"When a place is very small indeed, 

 straight drives and paths should be pre- 

 ferred to curved ones^ not, as in the case of 

 a palace, for the sake of stateliness, but for 

 the sake of economy of space, harmony, and 

 simphcity. In such a place, I say, every 

 inch of space is precious, and a straight 

 path occupies less space than a curving one. 

 Then, the straight hnes formed by the street 

 and the house cannot for a moment be for- 

 gotten, and, therefore, it is good art to ac- 

 cept them as the basis of the whole scheme 

 and repeat them in the intermediate lines of 

 gravel. It is difficult, too, to give grace to 

 a sinuous line unless it has considerable 

 length, and the straight line is simpler in 

 effect than a curved one, and simplicity is 

 the greatest possible virtue which very small 

 grounds can have. Of course, if there are 

 irregularities in the surface of the ground, 

 they will determine the trend of the paths ] 

 but the average villa-plot is as flat in surface 

 as it is symmetrical in outline. 



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