House and Garden 
WALL PATTERN AND FRIEZE OF ENGLISH 
EMBLEMS, BY WALTER CRANE 
to be strengthened than otherwise by the par¬ 
allels in the design. This is said rather by 
way of explaining a peculiarity which has 
been noticed in many recent designs than 
with the intention of praising it unreservedly. 
The effect of the photograph is to exagger¬ 
ate this, and more reliable records than we 
have here are wanted. 
Amongst Morris’s sayings is one very 
much to the point, as usual, and better than 
what would follow if this discourse were pro¬ 
longed : “ One may say, broadly speaking, 
that the use of this subordinate, but by no 
means unimportant, art (of design) is to en¬ 
liven with beauty and incident what would 
otherwise be a blank space.The ab¬ 
solute necessities of the art are beauty of 
color and restfulness of form. More defi¬ 
A FRUIT AND ORANGE-TREE DESIGN 
BY WALTER CRANE 
After such a disaster as that of the Iro¬ 
quois Theatre fire in Chicago, the public, 
apparently helpless, falls back on the archi¬ 
tects and builders of theatres with breathless 
questioning. Until the official inquiry es¬ 
tablishes all the causes for the catastrophe, 
it is idle to speculate on personal guilt; but 
already a certain group of causes for the loss 
of life are apparent. These are summed up 
in the fact that the building was used before 
it was altogether completed. Anyone fa¬ 
miliar with building operations knows the 
seemingly interminable number of small 
things which linger on unattended to long 
after the contractors declare their work 
finished. In public buildings this list oi 
apparent trifles is likely to contain items ot 
vital importance upon which human safety 
nite qualities than these it need not have. 
Its color may be brought about by the sim¬ 
plest combinations ; its form may be merely 
that oi abstract lines and spaces, and need 
not of necessity have any distinct meaning, 
or tell any story expressible in words.” E.R. 
47 
