1810. ] 
to be the only external ornament deemed 
necessary, This the Mansion-house, 
Carleton-house, India-house, and New 
Theatre, attest. Insert buta_ portico, 
with columns and pediments, and the 
olher parts are passed off, at option, with 
@ mere house-plan, of common taste and 
decoration. The Pastan column ap- 
pears accordingly inthe front of the New 
Theatre, to which there is nothing coin- 
cident in any other part of the facaele. 
The front, it is well known, consists of 
this Pastan portico, between two long 
plain sides of wali, breken by a few win- 
dows, a bas-relief inserted in the wall, 
and two statues, one at each end. Itis 
evident, that to harmonize with the por- 
tico, in the classical style, there should 
have been a cornice, frieze, &c. &c. as 
usual in the plans. Perhaps the statues 
should have been colossal. Assuredly, 
the portico is too small, and the face of 
the building toolaw. The Doric of Jove 
requires adequate grandeur. At all 
events, the plan of this facade is arbitrary 
ana capricious, The introduction of 
the bas-reliels is undoubtedly-elegant, but 
of a light effect and character, directly 
Opposite to the heavy style of the Doric 
portico, Pass we to the inside of the 
house, there are immense lobbies, and 
paltry stair cases—stair-cases not supe- 
rior to common houses, even in materi- 
als. The andience part of the house is, 
as usual, light; but why vary the running 
pattern upon every ter of boxes? The 
effect would have been improved if they 
had been uniform, To connect these 
light and airy gaieties with the scene part, 
is the latter made unaccountably heavy: 
and thus is the coeffure of a young gul 
placed upon the head of a judge or a 
bishop. Just beyond the orchestra are 
two huge porphyry pilasters, with pretty 
modern doors at the side, anda heavy 
rooi In compartments... The drop-seene 
too, though evidently intended to con- 
tinue the plan, has other inharmonious 
breaches of that plan. It seems not to 
have occurred to the architects of the- 
atres, that a continuation and unity of 
plan should’ go round the whole house, 
with which the drop-scene should har- 
monize, and by an attention also to co- 
jouring, design, and moulding, upon a 
“plan as uaijforin as circumstances would 
admit, might be produced a fine per- 
spective whole. There are, however, 
considerable difhiculties in this idea; but 
would not the drop-sgene be well super- 
seded by two side-sliding scenes, of com- 
partments of looking-giass, which would 
Mon tury Mae, No. 208. 
On Cutting Down decaying Timber Trees. 
125 
reverberate an elegant representation of 
the audience? &c. I protest against 
any illiberal meaning: but architecture 
has hitherto been brought to no standard 
in England: the people approve of no- 
thing which has yet appeared. Wyatt 
has been most successful; but there ap- 
pears wanting a style which leaves less 
liberty to the caprice of the-architect—a 
style drawn from the simplicity of the 
ancients. . , 
eerie 
for the Monthly Magazine. 
On curring vown decaying TIMBER- 
TREES: with POLITICU-ECONOMICAL 
REFLECTIONS. 
\ IVH regard to the disadvantages, 
in both a public. and private 
view, of suffering timber-trees to remain 
upon the land when obviously past their 
prime, and annually verging to decay, I 
entirely agree with your respectable and. 
well-intentioned correspondent Mr. Hall. 
Indeed, the subject so fully impressed 
my mind some years since, whilst look 
ing over the finely-timbered estate of a 
noble lord, that. 1 soon afterwards Jaid 
my sentiments before the public. Ihave 
not the passage before me at this instant, 
but so far as [ recolleet, in addition to 
the argument. of profit, I urged, that a 
sufficiency of full-sized yet improving 
trees existed, and might be perpetually 
retainod, for every purpose of rural gran- 
deur and magnificent view, without so 
general an accompaniment of thase in a* 
state of decay; a few of which only 
need be retained when of a singular 
form, or peculiarly venerable appearance, 
I endeavoured afso forcibly to inculcate 
the patriotic and profitable practice of 
planting in early life, wishing it to be 
received as a universal maxim, by all 
our land proprietors great and small. 
It appeared to me to be sufficiently dis-~ 
advantageous and ill-judged, even in the 
view of taste, to encumber ornamented 
grounds with rotten timber; but that 
this isa trifle compared with the indoe 
lent absurdity of swfering sucly to be 
scattered over farms totally out of view 
of the park or mansion-house, and where 
there can be no plea of ornament. 1: 
however, did not think myself autho. - 
rized by reason, or rigiit, or policy, to 
proceed even the breadth of a hair bee 
yond advice and recommendation; fully 
convinced that it was an affair quite 
without the bounds and province of legad 
compulsion; that it approached too near, 
if it were not actually an integral part, 
of that fundamental right, which aughe 
yeve?s 
