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 
simplicity. 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 lines 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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