W. H. BIDLAKE AND HIS RECENT WORK 
T he most casual glance at the homes of 
the middle and representative class of 
England gives a clearer idea ot the impor¬ 
tance of the home and the place it holds in 
the national life than can any time-worn ex¬ 
pression likening it unto a castle and cele¬ 
brating John Bull’s safety therein. The 
English home to-day makes a sharp impres¬ 
sion upon Americans who see it. When 
the life of that home is set within surround¬ 
ings carefully and feelingly designed there is 
an object unequalled in Anglo-Saxon civi¬ 
lization. Wherever it may be,—in city, 
suburb or country,—such a home seems to 
reign distant and aloof from the noise and 
stress of life, and the even course of its ex¬ 
istence is fed by the noblest sentiments of 
a people fixed by the power of time. 
That power, we are accustomed to think, 
is alone responsible for the charm of English 
domestic buildings. To it much is undoubt¬ 
edly due; but not all. It is true that the 
ownership of even small English estates is 
unchanging, compared with ours, and the 
character of one person or of one family is 
stamped on the house itself as long as brick 
THE ENTRANCE COURT OF MR. YATES’ HOUSE FOUR OAKS 
169 
