TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 295 
every few rods, a new turn in the walk opens a new 
prospect to the beholder, and “ leads the eye,” as Hogarth 
graphically expressed it, “ a kind of wanton chase,” con. 
tinuaily affording new refreshment and variety. 
Fences are often among the most unsightly and offensive 
objects in our country seats. Some persons appear to 
have a passion for subdividing their grounds into a great 
number of fields ; a process which is scarcely ever 
advisable even in common farms, but for which there can 
be no apology in elegant residences. The close proximity 
of fences to the house gives the whole place a confined 
and mean character. “ The mind,” says Repton, “ feels a 
certain disgust under a sense of confinement in any 
situation, however beautiful.” A wide-spread lawn, on the 
contrary, where no boundaries are conspicuous, conveys 
an impression of ample extent and space for enjoyment. 
It is frequently the case that, on that side of the house 
nearest the outbuildings, fences are, for convenience, 
brought in its close neighborhood, and here they are easily 
concealed by plantations ; but on the other sides, open and 
unobstructed views should be preserved, by removing all 
barriers not absolutely necessary. 
Nothing is more common, in the places of cockneys who 
become inhabitants of the country, than a display imme- 
diately around the dwelling of a spruce paling of carpentry, 
neatly made, and painted white or green ; an abomination 
among the fresh fields, of which no person of taste could 
be guilty. To fence off a small plot around a fine house, 
in the midst of a lawn of fifty acres, is a perversity which 
we could never reconcile, with even the lowest perception 
of beauty. An old stone wall covered with creepers and 
climbing plants, may become a picturesque barrier a 
