Art Out-of-Doors 
ument for a rural cemetery is, I think, a 
natural rock or bowlder. Of course such a 
stone might be so set that, looking out of 
place, it would seem more artificial than a 
carven one — there is nothing so artificial as 
a patent affectation of simplicity. But very 
often one may be found set by Nature in a 
spot convenient for a grave, or may be so set 
by man as to have a perfectly natural look ; 
and then, with a space smoothed for the in- 
scription but the rest of its moss-grown or 
vine-wreathed surface left untouched, it is a 
simple, serious, dignified, and artistic monu- 
ment, worthy of the noblest dead. 
Too often a committee charged with the 
erection of a civic memorial thinks it can 
dispense with an artist’s aid. Too often a 
group or figure or architectural design (espe- 
cially if it be for a Soldier’s Monument) is 
ordered as a plain block of stone might be : 
- — the commission for its material is given to 
a stone-yard or a quarry company, and the 
“ art ” is thrown in, some nameless and art- 
less artisan in the company’s employ being 
bidden to produce, often in the space of a 
236 
