344 
LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
need of apology for the flagrant and almost constant viola- 
tion of the second principle, viz : the expression of purpose. 
By the expression of purpose in buildings, is meant that archi- 
tectural character, or ensemble , which distinctly points out 
the particular use or destination for which the edifice is in- 
tended. In a dwelling-house, the expression of purpose is 
conveyed by the chimney-tops, the porch or veranda, and 
those various appendages indicative of domestic enjoyment, 
which are needless, and therefore misplaced, in a public build- 
ing. In a church, the spire or the dome, when present, at 
once stamps the building with the expression of purpose ; and 
the few openings and plain exterior, with the absence of chim- 
neys, are the suitable and easily recognized characteristics of 
the barn. Were any one to commit so violent an outrage 
upon the principle of the expression of purpose as to sur- 
mount his barns with the tall church spire, our feelings 
would at once cry out against the want of propriety. Yet 
how often do we meet in the northern states, with stables 
built after the models of Greek temples, and barns with ele- 
gant Yenetian shutters — to say nothing of mansions with 
none but concealed chimney-tops, and without porches or 
appendages of any kind, to give the least hint to the mind 
of the doubting spectator, whether the edifice is a chapel, a 
bank, a hospital, or the private dwelling of a man of wealth 
and opulence ! 
“ The expression of the purpose for which every building 
is erected,” says the writer before quoted, “ is the first and 
most essential beauty, and should be obvious from its archi- 
tecture, although independent of any particular style; in 
the same manner as the reasons for things are altogether in- 
dependent of the language in which they are conveyed. As 
in literary composition, no beauty of language can ever com- 
