Roads and Paths 
less pretentious, easier to build and to drive 
upon unless the land be perfectly flat, more 
beautiful in itself, in truer harmony with 
the character of our buildings, and less de- 
cidedly artificial. 
But as all roads and walks are palpably 
artificial, no matter how they may be de- 
signed or of what material they may be 
composed, it is not good art to make too 
evident an effort to conceal the fact. The 
real reason for the existence of the drive — 
its utility — should always be acknowledged 
to the eye as well as practically secured. 
This means that even when the approach is 
curved it should not circle about to an ex- 
cessive degree, irrationally increasing the 
distance that must be traversed before the 
house can be reached, and, when its course 
is overlooked from the house, wearing an 
unmeaning, wandering look. English wri- 
ters on landscape-gardening often deplore 
the fact that, in the effort to make a display 
of magnitude in the estate or to show vari- 
ous effective points of view, an approach 
has been so laid out that it is positively irri- 
tating to the visitor ; — when he thinks he is 
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