ferfasm^) C^efiA^ert/ 
 
HINTS 
 
 PICTURESQUE IMPROVEMENTS 
 
 ORNAMENTED COTTAGES, 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 
 Research Library, The Getty Research Institute 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/hintsforpicturesOObart 
 
I 
 
 » 
 
MIJVTS 
 PICTURESQUE IMPROVEMENTS 
 
 IN 
 
 ORNAMENTED COTTAGES, 
 
 AND THEIR SCENERY : 
 
 INCLUDING SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE LABOURER 
 AND HIS COTTAGE. 
 
 IN THREE ESSAYS. 
 
 JHustratetJ bg S»6etcl)e0. 
 
 <•' Modieus voti, prcsso lare, dulcis amicis. 
 
 Persia 
 
 BY 
 
 EDMUND BARTELL, Jun. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. TAYLOR, ARCHITECTURAL LIBRARY, 
 HIGH HOLBORN. 
 
 1804. 
 
frir.ted by Cox, Son, and BxYirs, No, 75, Gjeat Qucen-Sucet, 
 
 Lir.colnVIun-Fields. 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 Few researches of late years 
 have more occupied the attention of 
 persons of taste, than those which re- 
 late to Picturesque Scenery : a line of 
 study that is greatly indebted to the 
 assiduous investigations and accurate 
 definitions of a few ingenious authors, 
 for the just ideas of taste which their 
 remarks have tended to produce in 
 the minds of the lovers of Nature. 
 
 The mere lover of Nature, al- 
 thoughunaided by observations found- 
 
 b3 ed 
 
VI PREFACE* 
 
 ed on correct principles, is neverthe- 
 less not insensible to her beauties, 
 either pleasing, picturesque or su- 
 blime. He contemplates with delight 
 the far-extended prospect melting in- 
 to air, is cherished by the beauties of 
 a setting sun, and admires, its magic 
 influence upon various objects ; but 
 is incapable of turning his observa- 
 tions to advantage in works of taste. 
 
 The love of a country life seems 
 to be innate in the human breast : 
 man seeks the large and populous 
 city from necessity ; but when he is 
 fortunately enabled to pursue his own 
 inclinations, he generally dedicates 
 some part of the year to a rural re- 
 treat. 
 
 Horace 
 
PREFACE. Vii 
 
 Horace, with as much strength 
 as pleasantry, says* 
 
 " Naturarh expelles furca, tamen usqiie recurret, 
 Etmala perrumpet furtim fastidia victrix." 
 
 Among the various objects of 
 picturesque beauty, the cottage, whe- 
 ther ornamented or not, has been but 
 slightly noticed ; and I do not recol- 
 lect to have seen any attempt to lay 
 down rules for the management of 
 such buildings upon picturesque prin- 
 ciples. I am aware of the great dif- 
 ficulty that attends the undertaking ; 
 but, as some rule, however imperfect, 
 is more useful than vao;ue and uncer- 
 tain plans without any fixed principle 
 for their guide, my purpose is, to give 
 a few hints upon the subject. 
 
 b 4 Various 
 
Vlii PREFACE. 
 
 Various designs for cottages and 
 other rural buildings have been pub- 
 lished from time to time; but they 
 do not include those minute circum- 
 stances, both external and internal, 
 upon which effect and character so 
 much depend. Every building, from 
 the proudest temple to the meanest 
 hovel, possesses a peculiar character ; 
 grandeur and magnificence, enriched 
 with every studied ornament, are the 
 pre-eminent features of the former ; 
 while humility and simplicity as 
 strongly characterize the latter : to 
 endeavour to preserve this character, 
 is the object of the following Essays. 
 
 The first of these relates to the 
 
 cottage 
 
PREFACE. J*X 
 
 cottage appropriate to the residence 
 of a gentleman ; or, in other words, 
 to the ornamented Cottage. 
 
 The second Essay treats of the 
 grounds and out-buildings, as con- 
 nected with the ornamented Cottage; 
 together with its appendages, as huts, 
 seats, bridges, sheds, &c. 
 
 Perhaps, of all situations, the ro- 
 mantic retirement of a rural cottage 
 is likely to produce the highest and 
 most refined relish for social happi- 
 ness : " True and social happiness," 
 says Zimmerman, " resides only in 
 the bosom of love, or in the arms of 
 friendship ; and can only be really 
 enjoyed by congenial hearts and kin- 
 dred 
 
X PREFACE; 
 
 dred minds in the domestic bowers of 
 privacy and retirement." 
 
 Beneath the rugged features and 
 russet garb of humble life are, not un- 
 frequently, found, feelings the most 
 exquisite, and sentiments that would 
 reflect honour upon the highest si- 
 tuations in life. With a view to 
 cherish these tender and delicate 
 plants* the third Essay takes into 
 consideration the dwellings of the la- 
 bouring poor ; not only as a source 
 of ornament, but with a view also of 
 pointing out what appears to be an 
 easy mean of bettering the condi- 
 tion and morals of a considerable body 
 of that useful and highly important 
 class of people. 
 
 Since 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 Since the final revision of my 
 MSS. Mr. Repton's new work on 
 Landscape Gardening has made its 
 appearance ; and it gives me the 
 greatest pleasure to remark, that 
 where his subject in any degree ap- 
 plies to mine, our opinions are nearly 
 the same. 
 
 For the Essays and Sketches 
 which form the Volume now sub- 
 mitted, with the utmost deference, to 
 the Public, I can only say, that the 
 hints which they contain are not the 
 hasty effusions of fancy, but the re- 
 sults of minute attention, in the hours 
 of relaxation from my professional 
 duties, to various scenes both of Na- 
 ture and Art, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ESSAY I. 
 
 I^irst rudiments of architecture. — Wood build- 
 ings covered with reeds. — Meaning of the word cottage. 
 —Difficulty of managing. — Seldom produce the desired 
 effect. — Materials. — Situation considered. — Simplicity 
 cannot be too much attended to. — Nature to be our 
 guide. — Colours. — Humility the characteristic of a 
 cottage. — Glaring colour. — Walls, clay, mud, rough- 
 cast, stone. — Red or white bricks mixed with stone, 
 want harmony. — Effects of time. — Clay or mud-co- 
 loured walls more harmonious than common stone. — 
 Note. — Height of a cottage. — Thatch. — Mr. Kent's 
 opinion. — Objection to tiles. — Effect of thatch. — Its 
 warmth and solidity.— Slate. — Projecting eaves a great 
 source of effect. — Of the porch. — Rustic colonade. — 
 Dutch and Flemish painters, their management of 
 cottages. — Trellis and Chinese work objected to. — 
 Gothic windows. — Sashes. — The casement. — Gothic 
 style in rural building. — On the mixed architecture of 
 the cottage. — Windows too small. — Painted glass, the 
 propriety of its use considered ; must be used in a 
 mass j two colours only used formerly ; Mr. Gilpin's 
 
 observation 
 
X1T CONTENTS. 
 
 observation upon. — Of the modern whole coloured 
 stained glass. — On the application of painted glass. — 
 Bow-windows well calculated for it. — On the propriety 
 of bow-windows in cottage architecture. — Of windows 
 painted in oils.— The art of staining glass not lost. — 
 Suitable style of apartments. — Painted glass to be con- 
 fined chiefly to one apartment. — Ivy, its effect. — 
 Chimneys. — Window-shutters. — External and internal 
 parts of a cottage compared. — Impropriety of attend- 
 ing wholly to outside effect. — Furniture. — Paint, its ap- 
 plication ; milk paint.— The application of the different 
 parts of sacred Gothic edifices to Gothic houses. — 
 The same taste should prevail throughout. — Prints and 
 pictures. — Comparison of two ornamented cottages.— 
 Common improvers fail for want of observation, &c. — 
 Taste must be corrected by reflection. — Improvements 
 frequently executed in haste. — Beauty not always in 
 proportion to expense. — Gentlemen frequently plan 
 without previous reflection. — Author's partiality to 
 cottage architecture. — The cottage and citizen's box 
 compared. — Harmony, one of the greatest sources of 
 pleasure in picturesque improvement, P< l g e !• 
 
 ESSAY II. , 
 
 Improve Nature, not change it. — Out-buildings 
 should correspond. — Ornamental buildings should be 
 
 few, Cottages the best ornaments to the adorned 
 
 farm. — Rustic bridge.— Chinese bridge. — Rustic bridge 
 atCossey in Norfolk. — Management of water generally 
 misunderstood. — The brook ; capable of great interest. 
 
 Alder and weeping willow contrasted. — Alder, its 
 
 beaut v, 
 
CONTENTS. XT 
 
 beauty, either singly or in a groupc.— Rural sounds. 
 
 The pool. — Seats ; their situation.— Seats should be 
 
 useful. — The hut. — The shed; its character. — The 
 grounds— The rail-fence ; its effect on uneven ground. 
 
 Mr. Price's hedge-fence recommended. — Cattle ; 
 
 their animation. — Let Nature be our guide. — Gates and 
 st il eS- — l ron gates. — Their impropriety in rural im- 
 provement. — Inscriptions. Page 65. 
 
 ESSAY III. 
 
 Attention to cottages of the poor. — Ingratitude 
 not to deter us from our duty. — Landlord the greatest 
 gainer. — The letting of cottages with farms con- 
 demned. — The advantages of cottagers' keeping cows. 
 — We deprecate idleness, without giving sufficient en- 
 couragement to industry. — Letting land to cottager. — 
 The benefit of this practice. — Remarks of Mr. Kent. 
 — Genera} advantages of the system. — Charity never 
 so well applied as when it promotes industry. — Small 
 quantities of land most productive. — Picturesque value 
 of cottages. — Comforts of plenty. — Beauty of a vil- 
 lage depends on its cottages. — Management of the 
 peasant's cottage. — Superfluous ornament to be 
 avoided.— Conditions of the cottager's enjoying land, 
 &c. — Gesner's description of a virtuous peasant. — 
 Such a character uncommon. — General outline to be 
 observed. — Want of room and air hurtful both to 
 health and morals. — Necessary size of cottages. — 
 Materials to be employed. — Character. — Walls of 
 Pi$Z. — Windows. — Uniformity. — Good taste will 
 conform to the situation that it has chosen.— Opi- 
 nion 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 nion of Sir Joshua Reynolds. — Ceilings. — Creeping 
 plants. — Emolument and beauty to go hand in hand. — 
 Wall-fruit trees. — Creeping plants on the roofs of 
 houses disapproved ; their elegance about doors and 
 windows ; may sometimes be allowed to aspire to the 
 chimney. — Cottage garden ; its utility ; Innocent 
 source of amusement.— Comparison between poverty 
 and plenty. Page 87. 
 
ESSAY I. 
 
 Let me, retir'd from business, toil, and strife, 
 
 Close amidst books and solitude my life ; 
 
 Beneath yon high-brow'd rocks in thickets rove, 
 
 Or meditating wander through the grove ; 
 
 Or from the cavern view the noontide beam 
 
 Dance on the ripling of the lucid stream ; 
 
 While the wild woodbine dangles o'er my head, 
 
 And various flowers around their fragrance spread ; 
 
 Or where, 'midst scatter'd trees, the opening glade 
 
 Admits the well-mixt tints of light and shade ; 
 
 And, as the day's bright colours fade away, 
 
 Just shews my devious solitary way, 
 
 While thickening glooms around are slowly spread, 
 
 And glimmering sun-beams gild the mountain's head. 
 
 Then homeward as I saunt'iing move along, 
 
 The nightingale begins his evening song ; 
 
 Chaunting a requiem to departed light, 
 
 That smooths the raven-down of sable night. — » 
 
 When morning's orient beams again. arise, 
 
 And the day reddens in the eastern skie?, 
 
 I hear the cawing rooks salute the dawn, 
 
 High in the oaks which overhang the lawn. 
 
 Knight's Landscape. 
 B 
 
ESSAY I. 
 
 Man in his most savage state has no 
 wants but those of appetite, which he sup- 
 plies by hunting. This, in the earliest stages 
 of barbarism, was his sole employment ; 
 shady thickets, trunks of trees, and cavities of 
 rocks, his only shelter from the inclemency of 
 the seasons, and protection from brutes, little 
 inferior to himself in sagacity, and scarcely 
 superior in the savage tenor of their lives. 
 
 As the species multiplied, and the ne- 
 cessaries of life became more difficult of at- 
 tainment, society became divided into classes ; 
 in which each individual received his appoint- 
 ed task ; and, as the state of society advanced, 
 those to whom superiority gave the advantage 
 of leisure, turned their thoughts toward in- 
 creasing the comforts of life, and acquiring 
 intellectual enjoyments. Building, one of 
 the most necessary improvements, became the 
 B 2 earliest 
 
earliest object of attention. Thus, says Vi- 
 truvius, the first ground-sill was laid, on which 
 they placed upright posts, and rudely framed 
 a roof; from which mean beginning the 
 superb and pompous edifices of architecture 
 have proceeded. 
 
 Many ages, however, elapsed before 
 buildings arrived at any greater perfection 
 than what was dictated by rude necessity. 
 In the tenth century, buildings of more solid 
 materials than wood covered with reeds were 
 scarcely known in England ; of such were 
 churches and monasteries constructed, or 
 chiefly so, as appears by one of the charters 
 of King Edgar, which speaks of the ruinous 
 condition of all the monasteries in England, 
 which consisted only of rotten boards. 
 
 A Cottage, to use the word in its literal 
 sense, means a house of small dimensions, 
 appropriated to the use of the lower class of 
 people ; but to buildings of this description, 
 the fashion of the present day has added one 
 which bears a distinct character, and is known 
 by the appellation of the ornamented or 
 adorned cottage. 
 
 The 
 
The expense employed, and the diffe- 
 rent rank in life of its inhabitants, giving the 
 ornamented cottage a superiority in point of 
 taste and consequence, I shall take that part 
 of my subject first under consideration. 
 
 As a retreat from the hurry of a town- 
 life, the ornamented cottage is rational and 
 elegant; and it is only to be condemned 
 when carried beyond the bounds of that sim- 
 plicity which should be its characteristic dis- 
 tinction. 
 
 Of late, the ornamented cottage has fre- 
 quently become the residence of people of 
 fortune ; it is, perhaps, to a mind delighting 
 in retirement, the happy apparent medium 
 between poverty and riches; and, if well 
 executed, throws an air of romance over a 
 rural residence, that is extremely pleasing. 
 From repeated observation, however, I am 
 inclined to believe, that there is more diffi- 
 culty in the proper management of such 
 buildings than is generally imagined ; and I 
 am the more confirmed in this opinion, from 
 having oftener seen the projectors of them 
 B 3 fail 
 
G 
 
 fail in producing the desired effect, than suc- 
 ceed, even in a tolerable degree. 
 
 '&• 
 
 In order to produce a striking effect, the 
 senses must be powerfully appealed to ; and 
 this can only be accomplished, by making 
 the artificial approach as near to the real as 
 possible. Every one must too frequently 
 have seen buildings of this kind destitute of 
 every characteristic qualification but the 
 name, to render them what they were de- 
 signed for; and, what is still worse, the 
 ground that they encumber, which might 
 have been formed to elegance under the 
 direction of taste, becomes disgusting, in 
 proportion to the extent that is occupied. 
 Of this want of character, I have myself seen 
 many instances; some particularly glaring; 
 while others, although equally destitute of 
 the principles of taste, yet, being composed 
 of more harmonious materials, were some- 
 what less offensive. 
 
 The different materials employed in 
 cottage architecture should depend, in some 
 measure, on local circumstances. If placed 
 
 within 
 
within a convenient distance of brick, that 
 material is most probably used ; but if in a 
 country abounding in strong clay and wood, 
 they are, for the poorer cottages especially, 
 most commonly employed, as cheapest and 
 most convenient. In former times, we find, 
 scarcely any other materials were adopted; 
 and, in point of effect, they were certainly 
 superior to every other. Straw or reeds were 
 also the most usual coverings ; and these in- 
 deed have been pretty much in use till with- 
 in the last half century ; few houses in the 
 country, even the better sort of farm-houses, 
 having previous to that time been roofed in 
 any other manner. It is, however, neither 
 a coat of thatch nor Gothic windows that are 
 sufficient to give the true character to a cottage 
 scene ; but it is from a combination of pleasing 
 forms and colours, so as to produce an agree- 
 able whole, that we are to expect success : its 
 situation also should be considered ; it must, if 
 possible, be so placed, as to make a pleasing 
 object in the landscape, and at the same 
 time to be a comfortable retreat to its inha- 
 bitants. 
 
 B 4 Yet 
 
Yet e'en in countries where the gen'rous soil 
 Teems with variety to 'Town your toil, 
 Waste not, too prodigal, the joys of sight, 
 Which, bought by exercise, yield new delight; 
 Raise expectation, flattering hopes inspire : 
 Enjoyment owes her pleasures to desire. 
 
 De Lilies Gardens. 
 
 It is as great an error to disclose too 
 much of the landscape, as not to shew 
 enough ; but either carried to extremes is 
 wrong ; for, by the former, we preclude all 
 relish for further pursuit ; and by the latter, 
 that which would have produced a pleasing 
 effect by less frequent interruption, is ren- 
 dered futile by the very means intended to 
 produce it. In fixing, therefore, a situation 
 whereon to build a house, it would probably 
 be advisable to chuse neither the best nor the 
 worst point of sight; so that the inhabitant 
 may neither be disgusted when at home, nor 
 induced to remain there longer than is agree- 
 able, for want of objects to attract his atten- 
 tion. 
 
 Simplicity cannot be too much attended 
 to in rural buildings ; it should ever be the 
 reigning object : yet simplicity need not ex- 
 clude 
 
9 
 
 elude taste; indeed, the words are in most 
 instances, and particularly in this synonimous ; 
 for, unless the former appear, the richest orna- 
 ments will not produce the latter. 
 
 The poet, the painter, and the actor, all 
 derive their resources from Nature ; and, 
 however they may deviate from their model 
 upon particular occasions for the sake of effect, 
 she is primarily the object of all their efforts. 
 Thus, if we take nature in a general sense, 
 we may be allowed to include such objects 
 as by long knowledge become naturalized to 
 the soil upon which they stand. In this 
 point of view, the baronial castle, the ruined 
 abbey, or the humble cottage, by carrying 
 us back to times past, or being combined as 
 objects in a scene, become as much a part of 
 nature, as the soil itself, the trees, and the 
 grass which adorn it, the horse, the cow, or, 
 in short, as any other object animate or inani- 
 mate. A proper attention to this principle 
 will be a preventive, or at least a mean of 
 correction, of those various incongruities 
 which we see continually creeping into im- 
 provements that aim at scenic effect. 
 
 In 
 
10 
 
 In cottage architecture, which is cer- 
 tainly a very humble part of that superb 
 science, we have it not in our power to pro- 
 duce either grandeur or sublimity ; the style 
 neither requires nor admits such attempts ; 
 all that we have to attend to then, in the or- 
 namented cottage, is, that whatever deviations 
 may be admitted for the accomplishment of 
 the effect, they should be so managed as to 
 be acknowledged rather than seen ; for the 
 great end is, in all the arts, that, provided 
 the effect is produced, the manner in which 
 it is brought about is of little consequence. 
 
 A person dressed out in a variety of co- 
 lours, opposite in their effects, is generally ac- 
 knowledged to have very little claim either to 
 taste or simplicity ; it will be equally impos- 
 sible to arrive at either in rural ornament 
 which does not correspond with the surround- 
 ing objects. Upon this ground, every mate- 
 rial of a strong harsh colour should be re- 
 jected ; the fierce red brick, or the perfect 
 white * of a wash of lime, are equally dis- 
 gusting. 
 
 *" In general, theWelsh gentlemen in these parts 
 
 seem 
 
11 
 
 gusting. The characteristic mark of a cot- 
 tage is humility, as if, conscious of its inferi- 
 ority, it should appear to retire beneath the 
 shelter of its friendly woods ; which it would 
 not do, were it fabricated of glaring colours 
 and costly materials. This being granted, it 
 will evidently strike the imagination, that it is 
 necessary to make use of materials of a quiet 
 sober colour, as best adapted to produce that 
 harmony, without which simplicity of form 
 will be of no avail ; it is indeed destroyed ; 
 
 and 
 
 seem fond of whitening their houses, which gives them 
 a disagreeable glare. A speck of white is often beau- 
 tiful ; but white in profusion is, of all tints, the most 
 inharmonious. A white seat at the corner of a wood, 
 or a few white cattle grazing in a meadow, enliven a 
 scene, perhaps, more than if the seat or the cattle had 
 been of any other colour : they have meaning and effect. 
 But a front and two staring wings ; an extent of rails ; 
 a huge Chinese bridge ; the tower of a church ; and a 
 variety of other large objects, which we often see daubed 
 over with white, make a disagreeable appearance ; and 
 unite ill with the general simplicity of Nature's colour- 
 
 ing-. 
 
 " In animadverting, however, on white objects, 
 I would only censure the mere raw tint. — It may be 
 easily corrected, and turned into stone colours of va- 
 rious hues ; which though light, if not too light, may 
 
 often have a good effect." 
 
 Gilpin's IVyc, p. 94. 
 
J2 
 
 and the unity between the building and the 
 landscape must be lost. 
 
 This, one would think, must appear ob- 
 vious to every gentleman, particularly to those 
 professing to have taste; yet I have more than 
 once seen the humble cottage of the labourer, 
 not only deficient in simplicity, but so much 
 so in point of harmony, as to be a positive 
 beacon to the country around. Where true 
 taste resides, 1 am persuaded that pure white 
 walls, blue tiles, green shutters, and similar 
 puerilities, will never be found. Frippery, 
 thus employed about the cottage, destroys 
 simplicity, and gives it the tricked- out ap- 
 pearance of many of the small houses in the 
 suburbs of the metropolis. 
 
 Let the building, therefore, be composed 
 of whatever material it may, its outside ap- 
 pearance should have nothing glaring. The 
 colour of clay or mud walls may be happily 
 imitated by a wash or plai-ter, tinged of its 
 proper hue, either with ochre, or any other 
 colouring material that may be preferred, 
 previous to its being laid on the walls. 
 
 There 
 
13 
 
 There is another kind of plaister, called 
 rough-cast, formed by forcibly during with 
 sand the surface of the plaister when wet ; or, 
 what is better than sand when they can be 
 had, the small beach stones : their colour is 
 excellent; and by penetrating deeper into 
 the mortar they render it very hard and dura- 
 ble. Even in a well-wrought stone building 
 there is considerable harmony; the beach peb- 
 bles in particular, both for neatness and colour 
 (which is generally a light grey), are to be pre- 
 ferred ; and were the mortar in which they 
 are set, to be tinged of a similar hue, it 
 would add much to the harmony of the 
 whole. But, as in all stone buildings, whether 
 the beach pebbles or gravel-pit stones are 
 used, it is necessary to carry up the corners, 
 as well as the breaks of the doors and win- 
 dows, with brick-work, it is needless, per- 
 haps, to add, that this part of the work 
 should, by artificial means, be made to corres- 
 pond as nearly with the colour of the building 
 as may be ; red or white should at all events 
 be avoided ; for either, opposed to the more 
 sober tint of the stone work, will produce a 
 chequered contrast, as well as formality, that 
 is utterly destructive to repose. 
 
 Than 
 
14 
 
 Than such glaring contrasts, which we 
 frequently see exhibited, to the eye of taste 
 nothing can be more disgusting ; and that of 
 red bricks combined with stones is among the 
 most common, particularly along the eastern 
 part of the coast, for cottages, barns, stables, &c. 
 That these errors should be committed by the 
 multitude, who are supposed to build for mere 
 convenience, is not to be wondered at; all 
 extrinsic ornament is out of the question ; but 
 when we see them committed by gentlemen, 
 actually professing rural improvement, they 
 excite our astonishment, and call loudly for 
 correction. Time will in some measure per- 
 form this friendly office, by partially covering 
 both the brick and stone work with stains, 
 mosses, and lichens ; but time is a slow ope- 
 rator, and ought therefore to be assisted by art. 
 
 After all, however, the clay or mud-co- 
 loured walls are far better calculated to produce 
 the intended effect, than any other tint of a 
 deeper hue, like that of flint or beach pebbles : 
 there is a warmth of colouring in the ochrey 
 tinge of a mud wall*, which grey can never 
 
 assume, 
 
 * Whitening, lowered to a dark stone eolour by a 
 
 proper 
 
15 
 
 assume, although assisted by all the charms 
 of sunshine. Such cold tints better accord 
 with the gloomy grandeur of the Gothic tower. 
 
 The next material consideration is, to 
 what height a cottage may be carried ; and 
 what kind of covering is most applicable to 
 such a building. With regard to the first, the 
 ornamented cottage ought not to be less than 
 two stories ; and if the roof be pitched high, 
 it is rendered more picturesque, and room is 
 left to convert that part into garrets. The 
 height of all buildings, however, ought to 
 be determined in some measure by their size ; 
 the height of the rooms, in a house built in 
 the cottage style, should not exceed eight feet, 
 or from that to nine, which will allow the 
 rooms to be of sufficient size for every degree 
 of comfort. 
 
 A small house, run up to a great height, 
 has an appearance of insignificance; while a 
 large building is rendered heavy, by not hav- 
 
 ^g" 
 
 proper proportion of yellow ochre and black, either 
 used as a wash, or, what is better, incorporated witJi 
 the plaister itself, is perhaps equal, if not superior, in 
 its effect, to every other colour. 
 
16 
 
 ing a due proportion of height; but, whether 
 large or small, a cottage should be rather low 
 than lofty. 
 
 I have before observed, that most of the 
 older farm-houses and cottages were covered 
 with straw or reeds, which, though less fre- 
 quent than formerly, are still in common use. 
 Reed, in particular, from its neatness and 
 simplicity of colour, is so unexceptionable, 
 that of all others I think it is to be preferred 
 for rural buildings : indeed, I am certain that 
 those effects which are the very life and soul 
 of landscape painting, or rural ornament, 
 could not be so well produced by any other 
 covering. There is only one circumstance 
 that can be alleged against it; I mean fire: 
 this certainly has some weight; but as it is 
 chiefly in towns where great danger is to be 
 apprehended, I see no reasonable objection to 
 it for roofs to detached buildings in the coun- 
 try ; while, in point of durability, and as a 
 preservative to the timbers, nothing is superior. 
 
 Mr. Kent, speaking of the covering of 
 rural buildings, says, " The covering is of 
 three kinds; Dutch tile generally for the 
 
 houses, 
 
17 
 
 houses, and the common pantiles for stables 
 and barns ; or sea or marsh reed, which is 
 excellent in quality and neatly put on. The 
 general cost for reed and workmanship, 
 and every thing complete, is a guinea a square. 
 No covering is so good as this, as it will pre- 
 serve a roof twice as long as tile. 
 
 " Where straw is used for thatch, I eai- 
 nestly recommend the excellent practice of 
 the West of England, where the straw is 
 combed quite clean of weeds, the ears of the 
 corn cut off, and reed (as it is there calle: 1 ) 
 laid on in whole pipes, unbruised by the flail. 
 The consequence is, that it is twice as dura- 
 ble, and in its appearance much better." 
 
 Thatch also is warm, and picturesque 
 beyond any other covering ; especially when 
 time has given it some spirited touches, just 
 sufficient to break its evenness of surface, 
 without imparting an idea of dampness ; and 
 in point of harmony no other covering can 
 agree in an equal manner, either with the 
 other parts of the building, or with the sur* 
 rounding objects. 
 
 C There 
 
18 
 
 There is the same objection to the use 
 of tiles, particularly the red sort, that there 
 is to brick walls ; a cottage with such a co- 
 vering no longer retains its quiet colour * ; 
 
 and 
 
 * One of the most charming edects of sunshine is, 
 its giving to objects, not merely light, but that mellow 
 golden hue so beautiful in itself, and which, when dif- 
 fused, as in a fine evening, over the whole landscape, 
 creates that rich union and harmony, so enchanting in 
 Nature and in Claude. But if cither in Claude or in 
 Nature any one object should be introduced of so 
 glaring a white as not to partake of the genera! hue, 
 the whole attention, in spite of all our efforts to the 
 contrary, will be drawn to that one point ; if there are 
 several, the eye will be distracted among them. Again, 
 (to consider it in another view) when the sun breaks 
 out in gleams, there is something that delights and 
 surprises, in seeing an object, before only visible, 
 lighted up in splendour, and then gradually sinking into 
 shade. But a whitened object is already lighted up ; 
 it remains so when every thing has retired into ob- 
 scurity ; it still forces itself into notice ; still impu* 
 dently stares you in the face. 
 
 A cottage of a quiet colour, half concealed among 
 trees, with its bit of garden., its pales and orchard, ia 
 one of the most tranquil and soothing of all rural ob- 
 jects ; and, when the sun strikes upon it, and discovers 
 a number of picturesque circumstances, one of the 
 
 most 
 
19 
 
 and when in a state of decay, when green 
 with moss, and the roof sunk in, it conveys to 
 the imagination an equal degree of damp- 
 ness, and more of desolation, than the roof 
 of thatch, without its picturesque effect. 
 But it may not be amiss to say, that a great 
 deal of the effect of a thatched roof depends 
 upon the manner in which it is applied. 
 
 Unless the eaves project a considerable 
 way over every part, the building will have 
 a mean appearance, and lose that depth of 
 shadow for which reed covering is so emi- 
 nently conspicuous, and which is greatly in- 
 creased by suffering it also to project over the 
 gable ends in an ample manner : it is needless 
 to say, that the windows in the roof, and the 
 porch, if there be one, should be managed 
 in the same way. AVindows in the roof of a 
 cottage add gready to its effect ; they break 
 the regularity of its surface, and produce a 
 pleasing variety. 
 
 C 2 In 
 
 most cheerful ; but if cleared round and whitened, its 
 modest retired character is gone, and succeeded by a 
 perpetual glare. 
 
 Price on the Picturesque. 
 
20 
 
 In the review of all objects, we are apt 
 to associate certain ideas, and to make them 
 our standard of judgment. To a barn, for 
 instance, we know that windows are unne- 
 cessary ; and this knowledge reconciles us to 
 its long, blank, unbroken roof. We look 
 not for other windows than the loop holes in 
 its sides, for the purpose of admitting air ; but 
 in the habitation of man, we consider every 
 part as occupied, and requiring not only light 
 and air, but a certain degree of cheerfulness 
 and comfort. In the barn it is not common 
 to project the roof over the ends ; but this, in 
 a picturesque view, although it adds to its 
 length, would receive more than a propor- 
 tionate advantage in the beauty of its gables. 
 
 Warmth and solidity appear to be cha- 
 racteristic of the thatched roof; and this is 
 probably another reason for its being pre- 
 ferred. It may be advanced on the other 
 hand, that red tile conveys an appearance of 
 more warmth than any other covering; but 
 this is merely as far as colour is concerned ; 
 we cannot join this with any other quality in 
 the material that is capable of assisting it ; it 
 js hard, and composes a surface of various 
 
 joints ; 
 
21 
 
 joints; but in a coat of reeds, thickness, soft- 
 ness, and colour, all unite to give it that ap- 
 pearance of warmth, which colour alone, in 
 this instance, cannot impart. The projecting 
 eaves also of a thatched roof, by giving a 
 greater breadth of light and shadow to the 
 building, greatly heighten it as a picturesque 
 object. 
 
 Next to thatch, slate (where it can be 
 had upon the spot), for neatness and har- 
 mony of colour, is the material to be preferred. 
 But unless the building is in the neighbour- 
 hood of a slate quarry, or in a situation where 
 slate can be procured at an easy rate, and is in 
 frequent use, it breaks in upon frugality, the 
 appearance of which should never be over- 
 looked. In a large house, where luxury and 
 expense are supposed to reside, extrinsic or- 
 naments may be allowed ; but in the cottage, 
 unless the material, be it what it may, can 
 be commanded at a moderate expense, and, 
 when used, appear in its proper place, it 
 ought to be rejected. 
 
 If slate be used, the projection of the 
 
 caves beyond the walls ought to be carried 
 
 C 3 even 
 
22 
 
 even to a greater extent than in thatch ; the 
 roof should also be comparatively flat. In 
 a large building, surrounded by a parapet 
 wall, the roof is but little seen; but in a 
 cottage, where the roof forms a principal 
 part of the building, it is in itself an object, 
 and requires a different mode of application. 
 Slate, perhaps, is most proper, when used 
 for cottages, where the roof covers only one 
 story. 
 
 The same kind of covering that is em- 
 ployed in the building, should be used on 
 the porch ; which, if well managed, appears 
 to be the best mode of entrance, and is cer- 
 tainly the most picturesque. It is in itself a 
 good object, and forms a pleasing gradation 
 in the detail of the building, which it con- 
 nects with the ground, and holds the same 
 relation to it, as shrubs do to trees, and the 
 smaller plants and flowers to shrubs. It has 
 also the good effect of breaking the regularity 
 of the building, and of preventing its starting 
 too suddenly from the ground. In some 
 instances, I have seen the eaves of the porch 
 project sufficiently to admit of billet-wood 
 for the fire being piled up under it, and being 
 
 entirely 
 
23 
 
 entirely sheltered from the weather, which 
 was far from having an unpleasing effect; 
 but where the eaves, either of the house or 
 the porch, are made to project in any con- 
 siderable degree, some support underneath 
 is requisite, to preserve the edges unbroken. 
 
 Where a cottage is carried up to the 
 height of only one story, there is less ne- 
 cessity for a porch. In a cottage that I have 
 lately seen, the door, placed at one corner, 
 is sheltered by a continuation of the roof, sup- 
 ported by plain wood posts. This is an ex- 
 ample worthy of imitation; and when its roof 
 and walls shall have been chastened with a 
 few soft touches of nature, it will be a most 
 pleasing object. 
 
 Unless the porch is managed with great 
 simplicity, however, it is undoubtedly the 
 worst kind of entrance that can be adopted in 
 cottage architecture; and of this, instances 
 might be adduced, where the elegant taste of 
 the owner could not be disputed. I allude to 
 the mistaken idea of attaching an entrance 
 proper for a mansion to a mere cottage co- 
 vered with reed ; with which, a portico sup- 
 C 4? ported 
 
24 
 
 purled by elegantly-formed pillars and pilas- 
 ters is totally incongruous. 
 
 If a rustic colonnade or portico be de- 
 sired, let it be in character with the building to 
 which it is attached. Trees of a proper size, 
 in their rough state, having only the bark 
 taken off, are the most proper supports ; around 
 which the ivy or the woodbine may be pro- 
 perly trained, sometimes wholly, sometimes 
 partially hiding these natural columns, adorned 
 by the varnished leaves of the one, or the 
 gay and luxuriant festoons of the other. 
 
 If we refer to those painters of the Dutch 
 or Flemish schools who have introduced such 
 buildings into their works, we may find an 
 infinite variety of examples to our purpose ; 
 no other works afford so much of that pic- 
 turesque effect which arises from sudden de- 
 viation and irregularity of parts; to which they 
 join an infinity of lesser objects, which might 
 be transferred to practice, or from which 
 other ideas might spring, productive of great 
 advantages. In their buildings, be their forms 
 ever so rude, you find them truly consistent; 
 they seldom offend by introducing ornaments 
 
 foreign 
 
25 
 
 foreign to their subject. The column, the 
 portico, the rich balustrade, and the ruined 
 temple, however beautiful in the pictures of 
 Claude, can find no place but in the elevated 
 scenes to which they belong ; so much, in- 
 deed, is due to consistency, and to a proper 
 association of ideas, that if the objects them- 
 selves, from which Claude deduced his most 
 beautiful subjects, were placed as the orna- 
 ments of a scene in Holland or Flanders, they 
 would be as much out of place, as a Grecian 
 portico attached to a clay- walled cottage. 
 
 Facades of trellis-work, surrounding 
 either doors or windows, never produce a good 
 effect ; there is a certain degree of littleness 
 of appearance at all times connected with 
 work of that kind, whether used in this way, 
 as the railing of a bridge, a gate, or in any 
 other manner. They are also generally 
 painted white, or green, which, in scenes of 
 this kind, is foreign to every principle of 
 harmony ; and although every thing that is 
 slovenly offends and ought to be avoided, we 
 ought equally to avoid a dressed appearance, 
 which would destroy the connexion that 
 should ever subsist between the house and the 
 
 grounds. 
 
26 
 
 grounds. It may be said, that the ornamented 
 cottage admits of dressing. I grant that it 
 will allow better finishing in parts, perfect 
 neatness, and around it a little more ornament 
 from shrubs and flowers ; but from the mo- 
 ment that dressing, in the common accepta- 
 tion of the word, commences, simplicity is 
 invaded; and in its fall is accompanied by ef- 
 fect, taste, elegance, and, in c hort, every thing 
 for which it was to be admired. Surely frip- 
 pery is not at all more necessary in the adorned 
 than in the unadorned, or labourer's cottage. 
 To steer the middle course in matters of this 
 kind, and to avoid either extreme, is not the 
 least worthy effort of taste. 
 
 It is a general and fashionable custom, 
 to fit up a cottage with Gothic windows : I do 
 not, however, think either the pointed win- 
 dow, or the sash, altogether consistent with 
 the simplicity of the building. I am aware, 
 that in the latter opinion I am differing from 
 a great master*, for whose principles I en- 
 tertain the highest respect and deference ; 
 but when we consider the character of the 
 
 building, 
 
 * See Gilpin's Western Tour. 
 
27 
 
 building, the materials made use of in its 
 construction, and the style of architecture 
 employed, I trust I shall not be thought in- 
 consistent in rejecting sashes, as foreign to the 
 purpose. The common casement, divided 
 into three parts, and of greater width than 
 height, appears to be the most in character 
 with such buildings as are now under consi- 
 deration. 
 
 This kind of window need not be adopted, 
 to the exclusion of Either light or comfort ; 
 let it, if required, be of ample dimensions, 
 with squares of glass neither small nor ordi- 
 nary. It has a good effect if the frames be 
 massy, and even the light divided by the 
 old-fashioned munnions; and if not of oak, 
 they should be painted to represent it. 
 
 The pointed, or, as it is termed, the 
 Gothic window, has, I apprehend, introduced 
 more depravity of taste into rural architecture 
 than any other thing whatsoever. To make 
 a window of that form pleasing, requires a 
 variety of minute circumstances which are 
 not generally attended to. Indeed, it may 
 
 be 
 
28 
 
 be the misapplication of the pointed window, 
 rather than any unfitness in itself, that may . 
 make us wish to reject it ; for I have seen win- 
 dows of this kind produce an excellent effect : 
 in this instance, however, as in every other, 
 so much depends on use, that the disgust 
 produced, is more likely to have been the 
 consequence of a wrong application, than of 
 any defect in the thing itself; but, in fact, 
 so little are the true principles of taste re- 
 garded, that, did not the chimneys mark the 
 intention, the edifice might be, and frequent- 
 ly has been, mistaken for a church or chapel 
 rather than a dwelling. Sacred edifices should 
 have a marked character ; pointed windows, 
 as more common to such buildings, give that 
 character more strongly, and on this account 
 alone, in such situations, are most proper. 
 
 The pointed window, however, need not 
 be wholly excluded from cottage architec- 
 ture; it only requires to be properly applied, 
 and combined with such other circumstances 
 as may fit it for its situation. It may be in- 
 troduced, either singly in particular situations, 
 or intermixed with others of the common 
 
 form. 
 
ID 
 
 form*. This in a great measure breaks that 
 formality which the pointed window is very 
 apt to exhibit. Great regard also ought to 
 be paid to the form of this kind of window; 
 one fault is, that they are generally too small; 
 and it is not uncommon to see a building, 
 two stories high, with only two of these small 
 windows in the whole front, one on each 
 
 side 
 
 * A doubt may arise, whether the mixture of 
 pointed windows with square is admissible in any kind 
 of architecture. I have certainly seen such a mixture 
 in cottage architecture produce a capital effect. A 
 cottage, or any other building, is rendered more pic- 
 turesque where parts have been added at different 
 times, as it happened to suit the taste or convenience 
 of the proprietor : witness also many of our old ca- 
 thedrals, where we see the intermixture of Saxon and 
 Gothic architecture, of round and pointed arches. It 
 is this jumble that so frequently produces the pictu- 
 resque in a high degree; and, without entering into 
 the propriety of such additions, to the painter at least, 
 it would be a great mortification to see such buildings 
 replaced by more regular architecture : such mixtures 
 may also be said to break and blend character. I 
 grant, that in some cases the mixture would be highly 
 incongruous; but if in others a compound character 
 more suited to the occasion be produced, and parti- 
 cularly where it does not interfere with the orders of 
 architecture, it appears to me to be perfectly allowable. 
 
30 
 
 side of the door ; those lighting the chambers- 
 being placed in the opposite side of the build- 
 ing, or a large one at each end, lighting both 
 upper and lower apartments. Such practices 
 give a house a mean appearance ; while such 
 a space of blank wall takes much from that 
 cheerfulness and comfort which every habi- 
 tation should possess, as far as situation will 
 allow. I grant a degree of locality in this 
 mode of building ; but that it is adopted at 
 all, and by some few admired, is a sufficient 
 apology for noticing its defects. 
 
 The next consideration that presents it- 
 self is, whether painted or stained glass be 
 admissible in the design of the ornamented 
 cottage. For two reasons I think it is. First, 
 its general use in such situations in some 
 measure warrants it; and, secondly, the ro- 
 mantic character of the design is increased 
 by it, and receives from it a certain air of 
 originality that strikes upon the imagination. 
 
 When well managed, coloured glass is 
 capable of producing a most pleasing effect; 
 but it must be in a mass, and that a pretty 
 large one, to give it all its value. We may 
 
 admire 
 
31 
 
 admire a single piece of glass, for the beauty 
 of its execution, or the splendour of its co- 
 lours ; but seen in a mass, the detail is for- 
 gotten, and we admire it, not for what it is, 
 but for the effect which it produces ; that 
 sweet solemnity, that peculiar and universal 
 tint, which is only to be acquired by a partial 
 exclusion of light through a coloured me- 
 dium, and which was formerly accomplished 
 by means of two tints only. 
 
 " Her Gothic temples dimm'tl with solemn shade 
 Of calcin'd glass distain'd ; tho' not as now, 
 Gay with the colours of the solar bow ; 
 Two simple tints alone their aid supply M, 
 And ingress to the rushing light deny'd." 
 
 " The gloom of a painted window in 
 old cathedrals," says Mr. Gilpin, " is very 
 pleasing; but I should desire only ornamental 
 scrolls. The best painted windows I re- 
 member to have seen, were (I believe in the 
 chapel) at Magdalen College, Oxford. They 
 are single figures, and only in clair obscure. 
 They are the best, because they are the least 
 glaring." 
 
 In general, I am entirely of Mr. Gilpin's 
 opinion with respect to quiet colours ; but, in 
 
 a painted 
 
:*2 
 
 a painted window, there is a warmth and 
 richness from the glow of the orange, lake, 
 and other tints of that class, particularly to- 
 wards sun-set, that to me is very pleasing. 
 But of the superiority of the one over the 
 other I cannot form a proper judgment, 
 having never, that I recollect, seen painted 
 glass in clair obscure in sufficient quantity to 
 be acquainted with its effect. 
 
 The whole coloured stained glass that is 
 now in common use in ornamented windows, 
 though of beautiful colours, certainly pro- 
 duces a glaring, and even an unpleasant ef- 
 fect. There is no gradation of colour; the 
 contrast between blues, reds, greens, orange, 
 and purples, is too glaring ; it destroys all 
 unity, and, instead of producing that solem- 
 nity, that glowing yet delightful repose, so 
 grateful to the eye where all those colours 
 melt into each other, it only forms a che- 
 quered patch- work. 
 
 I know not whether the scheme could 
 be accomplished at the glass manufactories ; 
 but 1 have often conceived, that if glass could 
 be made to resemble marbled paper, as far 
 
 as 
 
33 
 
 as colours and effect are concerned, it would 
 be an excellent substitute for painted glass. 
 There is a variety in the disposal of the colours 
 that is amusing, no two pieces being exactly 
 like each other. The experiment maybe easily- 
 tried, by making transparent a piece of mar- 
 bled paper, the colouring of which is rather 
 warm ; this, placed on a window against the 
 light, will have a very pleasing effect. 
 
 Although I am an advocate for coloured 
 glass, however, we ought to guard against the 
 too indiscriminate use of it. The most beau- 
 tiful productions, both in nature and art, by 
 being constantly in view, cease to operate 
 upon the mind in an equal degree with those 
 which are less frequently seen. I would, 
 therefore, confine it principally to a single 
 apartment; but there it should be lavished in 
 profusion ; for in profusion only can it give 
 that peculiar character which it is intended 
 to produce. 
 
 The lover of rural retirement, generally 
 speaking, possesses a cultivated mind ; the 
 Study, therefore, I should conceive to be the 
 most eligible room for a display of this kind, 
 
 D the 
 
34 
 
 the furniture of which is better calculated to 
 harmonize with painted glass than any other. 
 The action of the mind also depends greatly 
 upon certain objects for reducing it to its 
 proper tone for study or reflection. The so- 
 lemn grove and " the long-drawn aisle*," 
 
 rendered 
 
 * " The use of painted or stained glass is thought 
 to have begun about the time of Henry the Third : 
 this kind of ornament, as it diminished the light, in- 
 duced the necessity of making- an alteration in the 
 windows, either by increasing their number, or en- 
 larging their dimensions; for such a gloominess, rather 
 than over-much light, seems more proper for such 
 sacred edifices, and better calculated for collecting the 
 thoughts, and fixing the pious affections ; yet, without 
 that alteration, our churches had been too dark and 
 gloomy ; as some of them now, divested of that or- 
 nament, for the same reason, appear too light. 
 
 " To what height of perfection modern archi- 
 tecture (I mean that with pointed arches, its chief 
 characteristic) was carried on in this kingdom, appears 
 by one complete specimen of it, the chapel founded 
 by King Henry the Eighth. The decorations, har- 
 mony, and proportions of the several parts of this 
 magnificent fabric, its fine painted windows, and 
 richly ornamented roof, its gloom and perspective, all 
 concur in affecting the imagination with pleasure and 
 delight, at the same time that they inspire awe and 
 devotion." 
 
 Mint ham's History of Ely. 
 
35 
 
 rendered still more awful by its richly painted 
 windows, the stillness, and the dim obscurity 
 that towards twilight reigns around, rank 
 among the first of pleasing and impressive 
 scenes. To enable us to apply with atten- 
 tion, our thoughts should be abstracted 
 from all external objects ; for which reason, 
 many persons prefer reading by candle-light 
 to any other time of the day. An apartment, 
 therefore, admitting no more light than is 
 necessary, I should think most proper for the 
 enjoyment as well as the advantages of study. 
 Where painted glass is used in large masses, 
 the windows ought to be of a proportionate 
 size : perhaps no kind of window is so well 
 calculated for the admission both of light and 
 effect as the bow, the middle space of which 
 may be entirely filled, while each side may 
 contain merely a sufficient quantity to pre- 
 serve unity and complete the design*. 
 
 The 
 
 * It has been questioned, how far the bow window 
 is applicable to the mud-coloured or plaistered cottage. 
 I can only say, that I have seen it, when thatched like 
 the upper parts of the house, appear not only in cha- 
 racter, but perfectly modest in its effect. I wish it 
 to be understood, that I do not mean the sashed bow 
 
 D 2 of 
 
36 
 
 The effect produced by such a mass 
 would be so different from what a single pane 
 could aspire to, that it need by no means ex- 
 clude 
 
 of modern date, but of the characteristic solidity of the 
 architecture of Henry the Eighth, or Queen Elizabeth. 
 With regard either to that or any other window being 
 ornamented with stained glass, the outside appearance 
 of the building is not affected by it ; and even in the 
 inside, false windows, ornamented with stained glass, 
 may be made, to take off or put on at pleasure, though 
 this is what I should not recommend, as a great deal 
 of the effect depends upon the panes being recessed 
 within the deep projecting munnions of the windows, 
 whether of wood or stone. 
 
 Stained glass has the peculiar property of reducing 
 every other thing in the apartment to its proper tone. 
 Without inquiring whether our modern apartments 
 are not too light, we wish not to degenerate into the 
 absolute gloominess of former days. But in those few 
 apartments which remain to us unimpaired by the in- 
 trusion of modern innovation, I only appeal to the 
 feelings of those who are given to observation, whether 
 the frippery of modern times, although it ma}' make 
 a momentary impression, be capable of conveying 
 lasting pleasure. Only let us compare the modern 
 room and the furniture in it in a state of decay, with 
 that of former times; the one will wear the appearance 
 of poverty dressed out with trumpery ; the other will, 
 in a degree, preserve its dignity, though inhabited by 
 poverty, and tumbling to ruin. 
 
37 
 
 elude beautiful single pieces, which may 
 properly be called cabinet pieces, from the 
 other apartments, which would indeed have 
 their use; independent of their beauty, by 
 carrying on the design. As I have before 
 said, such cabinet pieces are generally es- 
 teemed for their colour or execution ; the 
 minute beauties of which are, in some mea- 
 sure, overlooked amidst the splendour of a 
 large mass. 
 
 The public has of late been much in- 
 debted to two gentlemen of the city of 
 Norwich, for bringing into this country some 
 of the finest specimens of painted glass, per- 
 haps, that are extant ; and no less so for the 
 liberal manner in which they indulged the 
 general curiosity, by a gratuitous exhibition 
 of it. 
 
 Having myself seen this splendid exhi- 
 bition two or three times, which I understand 
 has since been removed for sale to London, 
 containing pieces of all sizes and subjects, 
 from the designs of the first masters, I feel 
 myself better enabled to speak on the appli- 
 cation of it. 
 
 D 3 I am 
 
38 
 
 I am well aware, that the expense with 
 which treasures of this kind are procured, 
 may be urged as a powerful objection to the 
 introduction of them as the ornament of a 
 cottage : and that any thing so expensive, 
 and difficult to procure, is inconsistent with 
 fhe nature of the design. 
 
 In the first place I have to remark, that 
 the most expensive thing may be so applied 
 as to appear without ostentation, and not to 
 interfere with the simplicity of the design ; 
 and, secondly, that the cost (as in this in- 
 stance, where it does not clash with the har- 
 mony of the whole, either within or without) 
 is in some degree obviated by the nature of 
 the design, an ornamented or adorned cottage. 
 
 But to such as can rest satisfied with an 
 equal effect, produced at an inferior expense, 
 I would recommend windows painted in oil 
 colours upon ground glass. I know of some, 
 at this time, that have braved the vicissitudes 
 of seasons without any visible change to their 
 disadvantage ; and, when out of the reach of 
 the touch, would defy the best judges to dis- 
 cover the deception. 
 
 Where 
 
39 
 
 AVhere this plan is adopted, any subject 
 can be executed which fancy may suggest. 
 The numbers of pictures and prints of all 
 subjects afford more than a sufficient choice ; 
 whereas in the collection of old stained glass, 
 it is seldom that much choice is allowed ; the 
 purchaser must be content with such glean- 
 ings as are left him, and pick up these as he 
 can. 
 
 It had been a generally-received opinion, 
 that the art of painting on glass was lost ; but 
 this has been clearly proved an erroneous 
 idea by the Earl of Orford, (Mr. Horace 
 Walpole) in his Anecdotes of Painting, under 
 the head Peter Olivar, where he traces the 
 art up to the year 1757. 
 
 The subjoined note * from that valuable 
 
 work, 
 
 * "It may not be unwelcome to 'the curious 
 reader, to see some anecdotes of the revival of taste 
 for painted glass in England. Price, as I have said, 
 was the only painter in that style for many years in 
 England. Afterwards one Rowel], a plumber at Read- 
 ing, did some things, particularly for the late Henry 
 'Earl of Pembroke ; but Ro well's colours soon vanished. 
 D 4 At 
 
40 
 
 work, as particularly interesting to the lover? 
 of this art, I shall transcribe for the sake of 
 
 those 
 
 At last he found out a very durable and beautiful red ; 
 but he died in a year or two, and the secret with him. 
 A man at Birmingham began the same art in 1756, or 
 1757, and fitted up a window for Lord Lvttelton, in the 
 church of Haglc}-, but soon broke. A little after him 
 one Peckitt, at York, began the same business, and 
 has made good proficience. A few lovers of the art 
 collected some dispersed panes from ancient buildings, 
 particularly the late Lord Cobham, who erected a 
 Gothic temple at Stowe, and fitted it with arms of the 
 old nobility, &c. About the year 1753, one Asciotti, 
 an Italian, who had married a Flemish woman, brought 
 a parcel of painted glass from Flanders, and sold it 
 for a very few guineas to the Hon. Mr. Bateman, of 
 Old Windsor. Upon that I sent Asciotti again to 
 Flanders, who brought me 450 pieces ; for which, in- 
 cluding the expense of his journey, I paid him thirty- 
 six guineas. His wife made more journeys for the 
 same purpose, and sold her cargoes to one Palmer, a 
 glazier in St. Martin's Lane, who immediately raised 
 the price to one, two, and five guineas for a single 
 piece, and fitted up entire windows with them, and 
 with Mosaics of plain glass, of different colours. In 
 1761, Paterson, an auctioneer at Essex-house in the 
 Strand, exhibited the first two auctions of painted 
 glass, imported in like manner from Flanders. All 
 this manufacture consisted in rounds of Scripture stories, 
 stained in black and yellow, or in small figures of black 
 and white, birds and flowers in colours, and Flemish 
 coats of arms." 
 
41 
 
 those few who may never have read the work 
 itself. After what has been said about painted 
 glass and its application, it can be scarcely 
 necessary to add, that it ought to be assisted 
 by the adoption of a corresponding style in 
 the decorations and furniture of the apart- 
 ment. The harmonizing hue of oak or 
 wainscoat, whether used in the fitting up, or 
 as the furniture of the room, cannot be ex- 
 celled. The black furniture of ancient days, 
 particularly chairs and tables, and even some 
 of the same kind in modern use, when sim- 
 ple in their forms and of one hue (not picked 
 out with a variety of gaudy colours) may be 
 made to unite in no unpleasing manner to 
 the general intention. Mahogany, in any 
 form, ought to be rejected, as foreign to that 
 simplicity which should ever be considered 
 as the first principle of the ornamented cot- 
 tage. 
 
 I have before remarked, that, in order 
 to produce any striking effect by the intro- 
 duction of coloured glass, it ought chiefly to 
 be confined to one apartment, to which it 
 may impart a character entirely new. Should 
 it, however, be wished to introduce some- 
 thing 
 
42 
 
 thing of a similar effect in other rooms, in 
 order to heighten the romantic character of 
 the whole, let it be done with nature's ma- 
 terials ; suffer the tendrils of the ivy to mantle 
 luxuriantly over the windows, opposing its 
 transparent varnished leaves as a skreen to the 
 too powerful rays of the western sun. 
 
 Should it encroach too much (as a fa- 
 vourite too frequently does) upon the liberty 
 allowed it, a judicious application of the 
 pruning knife will not only be a means of 
 correction, but of moulding it to fancy's will; 
 not that fancy is to be allowed to reduce it to 
 particular or fantastic forms, but to curtail 
 its too luxuriant growth, departing from na- 
 ture as little as possible : in this state ivy 
 certainly gives a nearer idea of the intricate 
 tracery work of a Gothic window, and the 
 effect of coloured glass, than any thing be- 
 sides ; and this the poet seems also to have 
 conceived : 
 
 " That casement, archM with ivy's brownest shade, 
 First to these eyes the light of Heaven convey'd." 
 
 Rogers. 
 
 The chimneys of cottages come next to 
 
 be 
 
43 
 
 be considered, and appear to merit particular 
 attention. A single chimney placed in the 
 centre of a building of any size, such as we 
 sometimes see, has but a poor effect ; but 
 several chimneys, disposed in different parts, 
 form a varied outline, that is pleasing in any 
 situation, whether opposed to the sky, the 
 woody screen, or any other object ; and the 
 smoke ascending from one or more, in beau- 
 tiful fantastic wreaths, is one among the most 
 pleasing and picturesque scenes of nature. 
 
 For the labourer's cottage, the common 
 square chimney, as the most simple, is the 
 best ; but for the ornamented cottage, or for 
 the house belonging to the adorned farm, I 
 should recommend a strict attention to the 
 specimens which are frequently offered by 
 the older farm and manorial houses *; some 
 
 of 
 
 * " The forms of chimneys are not less to be 
 attended to in village-houses than in those on a larger 
 scale, and, in some respects, still more so; for al- 
 though any poverty of form gives greater offence when 
 mixed with the splendour of architecture, yet, in low 
 houses, the good or bad effect of chimneys is more 
 immediately striking, as they are nearer the eye, and 
 
 larger 
 
44 
 
 of which are round, some hexagon, and 
 others octagon, with the top a little enlarged. 
 Some of this kind, built with bricks cast in 
 ornamented moulds, I have seen beautiful* 
 not only in proportion, but in effect ; which 
 is also much heightened by the opposition of 
 single chimneys to clusters, of two, three, or 
 four. But as the ornamented work of former 
 times would be now not only exceedingly 
 expensive, but in the present instance of 
 little use, the mere form is all that can be 
 recommended. 
 
 Along with the other etceteras attendant 
 Upon cottage decoration, it may be well to 
 inquire, how far outside window-shutters 
 may be employed with propriety ; not to 
 
 notice 
 
 larger in proportion to the building. In old village- 
 houses they have often the same picturesque character, 
 and many of the same decorations, with those of the 
 ancient mansions already described ; and, indeed, seem 
 to have been copied from them. These, and a great 
 variety of other forms, differing in a number of cir- 
 cumstances, and all of them with some marked cha- 
 racteristic distinction, are to be found both in pictures 
 and in real buildings." 
 
 Price on the Picturesque, Vol. II. 
 
45 
 
 notice those violations of harmony and taste 
 which we sometimes see, where green and 
 blue shutters are patched upon white walls. 
 If window shutters are considered as a ne- 
 cessary safeguard, it is in the ornamented 
 cottage alone that they can be useful ; and 
 even there I should wish them to be con- 
 cealed. As to the cottages of the poor, their 
 humility is generally a sufficient protection : 
 nothing should appear to break in upon the 
 simplicity and repose that is imagined to re- 
 side within. 
 
 In the mansion, the architect avoids 
 every thing of that kind which may encum- 
 ber the beauties of his elevation ; he places 
 his shutters within. A house of that descrip- 
 tion is supposed to contain those things which 
 are known to attract the attention of the 
 nightly plunderer ; but the cottage, and par- 
 ticularly that of the labourer, may be fairly 
 supposed to possess few things but what his 
 own might supply. 
 
 Having thus considered particular parts, 
 jt becomes necessary to treat the subject in a 
 
 general 
 
46 
 
 general point of view, to compare the external 
 with the internal, and endeavour to point out 
 the necessity of connecting the interior de- 
 corations with the exterior appearance, so as 
 to form one complete whole. 
 
 To some this may appear unnecessary. 
 It may be said, the same taste that disposed 
 the external parts with judgment, we should 
 be led to imagine, would naturally carry on 
 the design throughout ; but this is so far from 
 being the case, that I scarcely ever saw a 
 cottage (where art had been used), the whole 
 of which perfectly corresponded. 
 
 It is generally conceived, that the ap- 
 pearance of a cottage externally is altogether 
 sufficient : this being the case, it is no wonder 
 that we see the inside possessing a character 
 totally different. From the appearance of the 
 external parts of an edifice, we are led to 
 form an idea of the internal, and naturally 
 feel disappointed, not to say disgusted, when 
 the train of our ideas is broken by impropriety. 
 There is no necessity for excluding the com- 
 forts of life from the ornamented cottage ; 
 
 the 
 
47 
 
 the plan does not require it ; but it requires, 
 that they should be exhibited in as frugal a 
 manner as possible. 
 
 The furniture should correspond with 
 the character of the building ; chairs of yew- 
 tree, or elm, and tables of oak or wainscoat, 
 should take the place of mahogany. The 
 walls white, or, at most, tinged with a wash of 
 some modest, pleasing colour ; while the 
 doors, window-frames, floors, skirting, chim- 
 ney-pieces, &c. should correspond with the 
 chairs and tables, and be left as from the 
 hands of the carpenter. Those who have 
 never observed the effect of this mode of 
 finishing, cannot be aware of its harmony and 
 character. I have seen very fine examples 
 of it, not only in cottage architecture, but in 
 the sweetly fitted up Gothic librarv, at FeU 
 brigg Hall, in Norfolk, a seat of the Right 
 Hon. William Windham, where all the book- 
 cases, window-shutters, doors, &c. are left 
 entirely without paint ; it is fitted up with 
 wainscoat, and the large Gothic windows are 
 ornamented with stained glass. Paint appears 
 to me to be as unnecessary in the adorned as 
 in the labourer's cottage. It is an adventitious 
 
 ornament 
 
48 
 
 ornament in the internal parts of a cottage ; 
 and without doors, &c. its place may be sup- 
 plied by a coat or two of drying oil, which 
 is an excellent substitute, and may also be 
 equally well applied to such internal parts as 
 are exposed to moisture. A receipt has lately 
 been published, under the name of Milk- 
 paint, that appears to deserve attention, parti- 
 cularly when used as a colouring for walls, to 
 which purpose it seems to be much more ap- 
 plicable than for wood work. It is cheap 
 and elegant, much more durable than any 
 water-colour can be, and fully equal to it in 
 the beauty of its surface. I am inclined to 
 think also, that it will much better stand the 
 test of time, or other accidents. The simple 
 white paint is prepared in the following 
 planner ; 
 
 Quick-lime six ounces ; Spanish white 
 three pounds ; linseed oil six ounces ; Bur- 
 gundy pitch two ounces ; skimmed milk two 
 quarts. — These ingredients, properly mixed, 
 will cover twenty-seven square yards. 
 
 The lime should be well washed and 
 rubbed down upon a painter's stone, to free it 
 
 from 
 
49 
 
 from all roughness, before it is mixed with 
 whitening, commonly called Spanish White. 
 The pitch is also to be melted with the oil over 
 a gentle fire, and gradually incorporated with 
 the mixture. Any kind of colouring ingre- 
 dient may be added, to bring it to the tint 
 required. 
 
 Different parts of Gothic buildings, 
 tombs, and shrines, frequently apply very 
 happily to Gothic houses, as chimney-pieces, 
 book-cases, doors, windows, and cielings. I 
 mention these, not as ornaments that could 
 perhaps be made to coincide properly with 
 the simplicity of the cottage : in a larger fa- 
 bric, as the adorned farm, or professed Go- 
 thic mansion, such imitations are the most in 
 character. Of this, Strawberry Hill, the seat 
 of the late Earl of Orford, is an example of 
 the first kind ; designs of the principal parts 
 of which have been published by Mr. Bent- 
 ley. 
 
 If the external parts of a cottage be of 
 an entire Gothic form, the same correspon- 
 dence should, I think, take place within : 
 every ornament should be in the same style ; 
 
 E the 
 
50 
 
 the chimney-pieces, whether of wood or 
 stone, should partake in their mouldings of 
 the pointed form. But should the outside be 
 of the Grecian character, that is, consist of 
 horizontal instead of perpendicular lines, the 
 same should prevail within ; if both these 
 characters appear externally, the same, with- 
 out offence, may be employed within (pro- 
 vided the harmony is not disturbed) ; as one 
 continued aim does not seem to have been 
 the original intention. But in these things, 
 although the rule is general, much must de- 
 pend upon the taste of the designer ; for, what 
 in one situation might produce a good effect, 
 may in another be wholly out of place. 
 
 Prints, or pictures, though certainly ar- 
 ticles of luxury, are such pleasing ornaments, 
 that we should be doing great violence to our 
 feelings not to admit them among the furni- 
 ture of the ornamented cottage. They are a 
 constant source of amusement ; they afford 
 us, even during winter, the idea of the sum- 
 mer's verdure, the summer's sun, or the calm 
 and delightful serenity of morning or even- 
 ing. That they should be neatly framed, is 
 all that is required ; any superfluous ornament 
 
 is 
 
51 
 
 is not only misapplied, but incurs an expense 
 at least unnecessary, if not injurious. The 
 love of pictures is not confined to persons in 
 the higher situations of life. Do we not see 
 in almost every, the meanest, cottage, ordinary 
 pictures and prints, and, as Mr. Gilpin ob- 
 serves, " even ballads, pasted on the wall with 
 good effect ?" Why, then, exclude those of a 
 better sort from a place in the ornamented 
 cottage ? 
 
 To illustrate the foregoing principles, I 
 shall take a transient view of two ornamented 
 cottages, which have in a more particular 
 manner attracted my attention. 
 
 The first, for propriety of ornament, and 
 simplicity of decoration, is superior to most 
 things of the kind. To say that it is com- 
 pletely convenient also, would be going too 
 far ; but when we consider what it formerly 
 was, (only a small inconvenient cottage) and 
 what it now is, criticism will perhaps be dis- 
 armed by admiration. 
 
 This delightful retirement, embosomed 
 
 in trees, and surrounded with its garden and 
 
 E 2 little 
 
52 
 
 little lawn, fronts north and south, and con- 
 sists of a kitchen, two parlours, and three 
 chambers, besides the garrets in the roof. 
 The parlours, which have thorough lights, 
 are ornamented with spacious windows of the 
 Gothic form, which, with the doors, floors, 
 mouldings, &c. are all of wainscoat, left of 
 its natural hue. 
 
 The walls of one of these rooms are 
 lined with a paper of a corresponding colour 
 to the wood- work, upon a white ground ; 
 while in the other they are simply white- 
 washed as far as the mouldings, below which 
 they are clothed with a fine matting : this, 
 with the furniture in the same unaffected 
 style, renders them the most pleasing apart- 
 ments of the kind that I ever saw. 
 
 I never think of this sequestered, elegant 
 retreat, but it recals to my imagination some 
 of the most pleasant hours of my life. Every 
 feature, both within and without, breathes 
 such an air of tranquillity and cheerfulness, 
 thajt we are at a loss to comprehend from 
 what source it arises, as the situation (taken 
 abstractedly) is by no means beautiful. It 
 
 can, 
 
53 
 
 can, therefore, be only said to spring from 
 that happy taste, which has made Art triumph 
 over the defects of Nature, and that in such 
 a way as to appear only the secondary cause 
 of effect. 
 
 il Scenes must be beautiful, which daily view'd 
 Please daily, and whose novelty survives 
 Long knowledge and the scrutiny of years : 
 Praise justly due to those that I describe." 
 
 Cowper. 
 
 The second cottage which I proposed to 
 mention is favoured with every advantage of 
 situation ; and most things externally appear 
 to have been done with a tasteful hand. 
 Planting has been pursued with spirit, and 
 promises a fair reward ; added to which, the 
 spot is formed by Nature to do credit to the 
 hand of Art. The situation of the house is 
 happily chosen, in the bosom of a deep ro- 
 mantic little valley, and commands a beautiful 
 view of the ocean at the distance of about 
 three quarters of a mile ; and, generally 
 speaking, the external effect of the building, 
 and of the whole, with a few trivial excep- 
 tions, is good, and such as would reasonably 
 lead us to anticipate a thorough correspon- 
 dence within. But in this (as is too frequently 
 E 3 the 
 
54 
 
 the case) we are disappointed : mahogany 
 furniture, and fashionable paper, ill agree 
 with pointed windows, ornamented with 
 stained glass, and doors studded after the 
 Gothic fashion ; but which are rendered still 
 more absurd, by being painted of a dead 
 white. Such incongruities, such mixtures of 
 town-fashions with sylvan scenes, are irrecon- 
 cileable to every idea of true taste, and must, 
 by each destroying the effect of the other, 
 exclude all possibility of producing harmony*. 
 Where this principle is wanting, the eye of 
 taste looks in vain for gratification ; where it 
 prevails, although produced with the rudest 
 materials, the effect is sure to please. 
 
 An adept in music touching the strings, 
 or running over the keys of an instrument, 
 although wildly, and without regard to tune, 
 but with taste, produces a more pleasing and 
 harmonious effect upon the ear of an observer, 
 
 than 
 
 * " Congruity and propriety, wherever per- 
 ceived, appear agreeable ; and every agreeable object 
 produccth in the mind a pleasant emotion. Incon- 
 gruity and impropriety, on the other hand, are dis- 
 agreeable, and, oi course, produce painful emotions." 
 Karnes's Elements of Criticism. 
 
55 
 
 than the best music is capable of affording 
 when played by an unskilful hand. This 
 maxim holds equally good in all the polite 
 arts ; which seem to be so nearly connected, 
 that, generally speaking, he who excels in 
 any one of them, would most likely, with ap- 
 plication, make no mean progress in any of 
 the others, whether Poetry, Music, Painting, 
 or Gardening. 
 
 To this rule, however, there are, doubt- 
 less, some exceptions ; as I have known those 
 who could draw in a very good style, yet had 
 no ear for music. Where the ear is deficient, 
 poetry must, of course, be cultivated in vain ; 
 but to return : 
 
 I am persuaded, that gentlemen more 
 frequently fail from not sufficiently studying 
 the subject before they attempt to put it in 
 practice, and for want of observing what has 
 been done by others in the same way, than 
 from any other cause. By closely observing 
 the ideas on which others have acted, and 
 comparing them with our own on the same 
 subject, provided those ideas have been justly 
 E 4 formed, 
 
56 
 
 formed, we are enabled to copy their excel- 
 lencies, and avoid their defects. 
 
 Taste certainly is the " great first cause," 
 that must operate in every branch of the po- 
 lite arts, to bring forth peculiar or striking 
 effects ; but, unless it is corrected by mature 
 reflection, and some practical experience, it 
 will, at times, run into absurdities *. I need 
 not hint, that, without taste, absurdities must 
 
 necessarily 
 
 * " A taste for the fine arts is a plant that grows 
 naturally in many soils ; but, without culture, scarcely 
 to perfection in any soil : it is susceptible of much 
 refinement, and is, by proper care, greatly improved. 
 The man who aspires to be a critic in these arts must 
 pierce still deeper : he must acquire a clear perception 
 of what ( bjects are lofty, what low, what proper or im- 
 proper, what manly, and what mean or trivial. 
 
 " Hence a foundation for reasoning upon the taste 
 of any individual, and for passing sentence upon it: 
 where it is conformable to principles, we can pro- 
 nounce with certainty that it is correct ; otherwise, that 
 it is incorrect, and perhaps whimsical. Thus the fine 
 arts, like morals, become a rational science ; and, 
 like morals, may be cultivated to a high degree of re- 
 finement." 
 
 Karnes's Elements of Criticism. 
 
57 
 
 necessarily prevail. If, therefore, good taste 
 requires cultivation to increase its powers, it 
 must follow, that where the improver * pos- 
 sesses but a small share of that essential quali- 
 fication, a close attention to those things and 
 circumstances which are allowed to bear the 
 stamp of taste is doubly necessary, to enable 
 him to act with any degree of consistency, 
 and to prevent his rendering himself ridi- 
 culous. 
 
 '* Ludere qui nescit, campestribus abstinet avmis: 
 Indoctusquc pilae, discive, troehive, quiescit ; 
 Ne spissas risum tollant impune corona? : 
 Qui nescit versus, tamen audet fingere." 
 
 Ilor. de Arte Poctica. 
 
 So he who is ignorant of the requisites 
 for improving, presumes to improve ; and it 
 would be well if the mischief produced were 
 not more lasting, or more extensive, than that 
 of a bad poem ; from which, the worst evil 
 that can happen, is the loss of time and dis- 
 appointment to the reader, and the oblivion 
 into which it deservedly sinks ; but the other 
 
 is 
 
 * Wherever the term improver occurs, I allude 
 to those gentlemen who conduct their own works ; 
 certainly not to the improver by profession. 
 
58 
 
 is a lasting disgrace to its owner and to the 
 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 I think it the more necessary to dwell a 
 little upon this part of my subject, from being 
 fully persuaded that the greater number of 
 rural improvements are undertaken, not only 
 without the smallest previous inquiry or re- 
 flection on the subject, but frequently to gra- 
 tify the whim of the moment ; some persons, 
 probably, thinking it sufficient to be able to 
 say, that so much money was expended in 
 the undertaking ; and concluding, that if all 
 do not admire the taste with which the gene- 
 ral arrangement has been made, they must 
 at least be led to form proper ideas of the 
 wealth of the projector. This is, however, 
 an unworthy notion ; for, although the mul- 
 titude, we will allow, may be pleased, it 
 would also, perhaps, be equally pleased 
 (though without knowing why) with a per- 
 formance that bore the stamp of real merit, 
 and by which the improver, at the same 
 time, would reap the gratification of being 
 not only applauded, but even copied, by those 
 whose taste would do him real honour. 
 
 It 
 
59 
 
 It is not always necessary to lavish 
 large sums of money in order to please *; and 
 
 in 
 
 * Although T have frequently hinted, that un- 
 necessary expense ought by all means to be avoided, 
 I wish to be understood, that I do not mean to consider 
 planting as one of those expenses which are frivolous 
 or unnecessary. But I take leave to say, that with 
 whatever view planting is undertaken, whether for 
 immediate improvement, for posterity, or for public 
 benefit, fir-trees alone, or even in great proportion, 
 will never be adequate to the purpose, however ne- 
 cessary they may be to the rearing of timber ; or, by 
 the quickness of their growth, to the giving of pre- 
 sent effect : they ought not, therefore, as they too 
 frequently are, to be considered as a first object. 
 
 I consider it as an almost indispensable duty in 
 every gentleman to plant, more or less, according to 
 the extent or nature of his property. In almost every 
 spot, there are certain portions which might be set 
 apart for such purposes ; and as to the expense in- 
 curred, the work must either be very badly managed, 
 or be very unsuccessful indeed, if it do not repay, 
 with interest, both the cost, and the rent of the land 
 employed, even in the most barren wastes. 
 
 A gentleman in this neighbourhood *, about twen- 
 ty-five years since, proposed to plant a considerable 
 
 extent 
 
 * The Right Ron. W. Windham, of Felbrigg, 
 
CO 
 
 in cottage decorations, whether internal or 
 external, it would be absurd. The situation 
 that requires such a sacrifice is unworthy of 
 either the expense or the trouble. Comfort, 
 simplicity, and a sufficient degree of novelty 
 to obtain a certain romantic air for such a 
 dwelling, are all that can be requisite. 
 
 It is no unusual thing, for a person who 
 has passed the greatest part of his life in a 
 large and populous city, where he has amassed 
 a fortune, to purchase an estate in the coun- 
 try, as a retirement for the remnant of his 
 days ; which having done, he fancies himself 
 capable of planning his own improvements, 
 and makes his first essay upon the house, be- 
 ing resolved to have what he terms " a snug 
 or a neat little box :" which generally turns 
 out to be the most formal thing that imagi- 
 nation 
 
 extent of waste heath land with trees of different kinds, 
 oak, ash, heech, birch, and fir ; and submitted his 
 plan to a planter of eminence for his opinion; which 
 was, that the land was so bad that the trees would not 
 grow. The gentleman, however, who upon every 
 occasion thinks for himself, was of a different opinion ; 
 the ground was planted, and the woods are now rising 
 fast into perfection. 
 
61 
 
 nation can conceive ; totally devoid (not per- 
 haps of convenience, but) of taste and har- 
 mony. 
 
 The best red brick in the country is 
 generally fixed upon as the most proper ma- 
 terial for the work ; to which is added a co- 
 vering of glazed tiles, than which nothing 
 can be more offensive to the eye. The 
 aching sight can find no repose ; for the sta- 
 bles and coach-house (equally fierce), if the 
 fortune of the possessor required such ap- 
 pendages, I have more than once seen placed 
 upon a line with the dwelling ; the buildings, 
 indeed, have been a few yards asunder ; but 
 without even a paling to separate the stable- 
 yard from the pleasure-ground, of which, in 
 fact, it has composed a part. This is cer- 
 tainly a good method of telling the country 
 that the owner keeps a carriage ; and that he 
 has no objection to its being known. The 
 same taste runs through the gardens, planta- 
 tions, and every part ; and sometimes, in 
 order to separate the out-buildings from the 
 house, a high wall, forming a garden or 
 court yard before it, disgustingly bounds the 
 view. 
 
 Nor 
 
62 
 
 Nor is it to be wondered at, that in such 
 instances inconsistency should reign so con- 
 spicuous ; for we see it daily among the 
 higher classes of mankind, where we should 
 naturally be led to imagine, that the advan- 
 tages of a superior education would have 
 given birth to better taste and more correct 
 ideas. In the first instance, we can expect 
 but little ; for where the seeds of judgment 
 have not been sown in the mind, no produce 
 can be looked for when our necessities call 
 for action ; but, under the advantages of birth 
 and education, we should at least expect to 
 see better combinations produced from mere 
 general ideas, assisted by common observa- 
 tion. So little, however, are some gentlemen 
 in the habit of thinking for themselves, that 
 it is no uncommon thing to see stewards 
 and gardeners overthrow the best imagined 
 plans. 
 
 I should not have digressed from my 
 subject by adverting to buildings of a different 
 class, had not the contrast served to place 
 both in a particular point of view. I should 
 be sorry to argue merely for the sake of 
 differing from the common opinion ; but of 
 
 this 
 
63 
 
 this I surely cannot be fairly accused, while 
 there exist already, and daily are increasing, 
 specimens of false taste, which, unfortunately, 
 will more than confirm my opinion. 
 
 I acknowledge myself extremely partial 
 to the cottage style throughout ; yet I hope 
 that I am not so blinded by it, as to condemn 
 those who differ from me in opinion, or de- 
 sire to dictate to any. 
 
 In size and convenience, the ornamented 
 cottage and the citizen's box are nearly on a 
 par ; and, I confess, I could wish to see the 
 former more generally in the place of the 
 latter, being more consistent with my ideas of 
 rural embellishment ; yet, as every one, per- 
 haps the majority, may not be of my opi- 
 nion, but prefer a house of brick and tile, I 
 have been led to observe a little upon those 
 defects which are too frequently conspicuous 
 in that kind of building, under the idea, that 
 a house, be it composed of whatever mate- 
 rials it may, if taste and judgment reign con- 
 spicuous, can never be an object of disgust. 
 With regard to the cottage, if harmony, sim- 
 plicity, 
 
64- 
 
 plicity, and frugality go hand' in hand ; if 
 throughout the whole the same taste and the 
 same principles prevail, keeping also con- 
 nexion in view, the improver can scarcely 
 fail to produce an effect that will please. 
 
ESSAY II. 
 
 Insult not nature with absurd expense, 
 Nor spoil her simple charms by vain pretence ; 
 Weigh well the subject ; be with caution bold, 
 Profuse of genius, not profuse of gold. 
 
 The Gardens of De Lille. 
 
 F 
 
ESSAY II. 
 
 J- he lines of the motto contain admira- 
 ble maxims, and such as cannot be too closely 
 followed. Where Nature has been lavish of 
 her bounties, be it the artist's business to im- 
 prove, not to change, the genius of the place; 
 and let his improvements be rather felt than 
 seen. It is an error too frequent with im- 
 provers, to imagine that pleasure must be 
 excited in proportion to the cost. 
 
 Having, in the preceding Essay, entered 
 as far as was necessary into the detail of the 
 external and internal decoration of the orna- 
 mented cottage, it becomes necessary to take 
 notice of the out-buildings and grounds. Of 
 the former, it is sufficient to say, that they 
 should correspond as much as may be with 
 the cottage itself, to which they are subordi- 
 nate. Should a barn be required, it may be 
 
 F 2 placed 
 
68 
 placed as a side screen to the house, a station 
 which I have seen it occupy with good effect. 
 The straw-yard need not offend the eye, as 
 a proper area may be formed for it by one 
 side of the barn united with the stables, sheds, 
 &c. 
 
 With regard to ornamental buildings in 
 the rural taste, such as huts, sheds, seats, 
 bridges, gates, stiles, &c. they can scarcely 
 be too few, or too simple in their construc- 
 tion. The ground about the ornamented cot- 
 tage seldom extends to more than a few acres; 
 if any part of this small quantity should lie 
 so far beyond the house itself as to be out of 
 sight, a hut, or rustic pleasure-house, may be 
 erected, but scarcely else; at all events, an 
 eminence (which is not unfrequently chosen 
 for such purposes) should be studiously 
 avoided. A Grecian temple, or an observa- 
 tory loftily situated, may suit the grounds at 
 Stowc or Blenheim, and occupy such a situa- 
 tion with dignity, the grandeur of the domain 
 admitting of these kinds of ornaments, which, 
 indeed, are rather expected ; but in the most 
 extended domain, ornamental objects in pro- 
 fusion, instead of improving, diminish the 
 
 grandeur 
 
69 
 
 grandeur of the scene *, by breaking it into 
 parts, and the mind is never suffered to rest ; 
 object after object succeed too quickly, and 
 leave no fixed idea. If this be the case, 
 where the extent of ground allows of all 
 that art can invent to produce effect, the con* 
 sequence on a few acres profusely adorned 
 must be, that simplicity, the only character 
 that could possibly impart grace and beauty 
 to such a spot, would be entirely destroyed. 
 F 3 To 
 
 * " In gardening, as well as in architecture, 
 simplicity ought to be a ruling principle. Profuse 
 ornament hath no better effect than to confound the 
 eye, and to prevent the object from making an im- 
 pression as one entire whole. An artist, if destitute 
 of genius for capital beauties, is naturally prompted 
 to supply the defect, by crowding his plan with slight 
 embellishments : bene?, in a garden, triumphal arches, 
 Chinese houses, temples, obelisks, cascades, fountains 
 without end ; and in a building, pillars, vases, statues, 
 and a profusion of carved work. Thus some women, 
 defective in taste, are apt to overcharge every part, 
 of their dress with ornaments. Superfluity of deco- 
 ration has another bad effect : it gives the object a 
 diminutive look : an island in a wide extended lake 
 makes it appear larger ; but an artificial lake, which 
 is always little, appears still less, by making an island 
 in it." 
 
 Kaimes's Elements of Crit. 
 
70 
 
 To the adorned farm more may be al- 
 lowed ; but even on this, more than two 
 buildings of the ornamental kind would, I 
 think, be superfluous *. Indeed, the most 
 proper appendages to the adorned farm are 
 its cottages. Every farm employs a certain 
 number of labourers ; upon their cottages 
 ornament might be happily bestowed. If the 
 proprietor wished for that variety which a 
 hut or a summer-house would produce, he 
 might at one of these retain to himself the 
 use of a room, which, fitted up to his own 
 taste, would always enjoy an equal, if not a 
 superior, advantage over a more detached 
 building <f. 
 
 If 
 
 * When I confine the adorned farm to two or- 
 namental buildings, I do not mean to exclude a variety 
 of seats: these may be placed wherever they are 
 wanted. 
 
 f " As a number of labourers constitutes one of 
 the requisites of grandeur, comfortable habitations for 
 its poor dependants ought to be provided. It is no 
 more necessary that these habitations should be seen 
 immediately near the palace, than that their inhabitants 
 should dine at the same table ; but if their humble 
 dwellings can be made a subordinate part of the ge- 
 neral 
 
71 
 
 If abridge be required, it should be of 
 the simplest form : perhaps we should be 
 guided in its construction by the kind of 
 stream that it has to cross. To the peaceable 
 rivulet gliding in silence along its sedgy- 
 channel, and whose waters are almost imper- 
 ceptible to the eye, the simple plank and rail 
 is best adapted ; while to the more active 
 noisy stream, that brawls along a pebbly bed, 
 or tumbles down a precipice, a little more of 
 art is required : the rude arched trunk of 
 some knotty tree, thrown across in its natural 
 state, supported by piles equally rude, adding 
 to it a railing of the same kind, seems in this 
 case most in character with the feature with 
 which it is combined. 
 
 A bridge in the Chinese taste, is at best 
 but a frippery ornament in any scene ; but In 
 cottage decoration, both that and a bridge of 
 brick or stone are equally improper. 
 
 F 4 '•' The 
 
 neral scenery, they will, so far from disgracing it, add 
 to the dignity that wealth can derive from the exercise 
 of benevolence." 
 
 Repton on Landscape Gardening. 
 
72 
 
 {l The stately arch high rais'd with massive stone. 
 The pond'rous flag that forms a bridge alone ; 
 The prostrate tree, or rudely propt-upbeam, 
 That leads the path across the foaming stream, 
 May each the scene with different beauty grace, 
 If shewn with judgment in its proper place. 
 But false refinement vainly strives to please, 
 With the thin, fragile bridge of the Chinese. 
 Light and fantastical, yet stiff and prim, 
 The child of barren fancy turn'd to whim." 
 
 Knight's Landscape. 
 
 I have quoted the first line, 
 " The stately arch high rais'd with massive stone," 
 
 merely that the poetry might not be muti- 
 lated ; such a bridge being by no means 
 suited to the simple scenery in the environs of 
 a cottage. 
 
 The rustic bridge over the stream upon 
 the borders of Sir William Jerningham's park, 
 at Cossey, in Norfolk, is a model of taste ; 
 its bold elevation, yet simple construction, 
 joined to the materials of which it is com- 
 posed, render it one of the most interesting 
 objects of the kind that I ever beheld. 
 
 Water may be considered among the 
 
 most 
 
73 
 
 most pleasing objects of any scene. Few 
 parts of improved landscape, however, seem 
 to have been more generally misunderstood. 
 Extent appears to have been the leading 
 principle, without attending to situation or 
 circumstances. But it is not my business in 
 this place to enter upon the subject, farther 
 than as it relates to the humble circumscribed 
 scenery of the cottage. 
 
 Where a brook runs through the grounds 
 it is a happy circumstance ; and the greatest 
 care should be taken that its character be not 
 injured by the misapplied interference of art. 
 
 The banks of a brook, in a flat country, 
 are generally steeper in proportion, or, at least 
 appear so from their want of breadth, than 
 the banks of a river in the same situation ; 
 from which circumstance, the water, except 
 when seen from the brink, is often totally 
 concealed from the eye, and at a distance is 
 no more to be suspected than the ha ! ha ! 
 It is, nevertheless, capable of being rendered 
 both ornamental and interesting: in a great 
 degree. 
 
 A well- 
 
74 
 
 A well-placed but unaffected bridge, 
 effectually marks its situation ; while its banks 
 may receive embellishment from the weeping 
 willow *, the alder, and the aspiring poplar. 
 The first two have great picturesque beauty, 
 and heighten each other's charms by opposi- 
 tion of character. The light streaming fo- 
 liage of the weeping willow never appears 
 to greater advantage, than when contrasted 
 with the dark and well-massed foliage of the 
 alder, whose freshness of colour, and general 
 appearance, place it in no mean rank as a 
 picturesque object. 
 
 The 
 
 * Mr. Gilpin, with his usual accuracy of applying 
 objects to their proper situations, says of the weeping 
 willow, " We wish it not to skreen the broken but- 
 tresses and Gothic windows of an abbey, nor to over- 
 shadow the battlements of a ruined castle ; these offices 
 it resigns to the oak, whose dignity can support them. 
 The weeping willow seeks an humbler scene — some 
 romantic foot-path bridge, which it half conceals — or 
 some glassy pool, over which it hangs its streaming 
 foliage 
 
 ■ and dips 
 
 Its pendent boughs, stooping as if to drink. 
 
 In these situations it appears in character; and, of 
 course, to advantage." 
 
The alder partakes more of the character 
 of the oak than any other tree ; indeed, so 
 much does it approach towards it in its ge- 
 neral form, that at a short distance it is not 
 easily distinguished. No aquatic tree has an 
 equal advantage in forming a group ; and 
 when its dark foliage overshadows the stream 
 that it adorns, no subject can more power- 
 fully call to mind the simple but sweet scenes 
 so faithfully delineated by the pencil of 
 Waterloo. 
 
 In the perfectly silent stream, or the 
 gentle murmur of the distant water-fall, whe- 
 ther by itself, or in concert with other rural 
 sounds, there are peculiar charms : they are 
 often the happy parents of sensations the most 
 tranquil and serene. 
 
 " There is in souls a sympathy with sounds ; 
 And, as the mind is pitch'd, the car is pleas'd 
 With melting airs, or martial, hrisk, or grave : 
 Some chord in unison with what we hear 
 Is touch'd within us, and the heart replies. 
 How soft the music of those village bells, 
 Falling at intervals upon the ear 
 In cadence sweet, now dying all awav, 
 Now pealing loud again, and louder still, 
 Clear and sonorous, as the gale comes on ! 
 
 With 
 
16 
 
 With easy force it opens all the cells 
 
 W ere mem'ry slept. Wherever I have heard 
 
 A kindred melody, the scene recurs, 
 
 And with it all its pleasures. " 
 
 Coicper's Task, Book VI. 
 
 The pool is scarcely a less fortunate cir- 
 cumstance than the brook ; and its influence 
 in attracting cattle to the spot, is not among 
 the least of its charms. There is also a variety 
 in the height as well as outline of its banks, 
 that is often highly picturesque ; but if a few 
 beautiful trees, or even a single one, be for- 
 tunately added, the effect is doubly pleasing. 
 
 For the proper arrangement of such 
 spots, or, indeed, of water in general, the 
 improver can scarcely do better than consult 
 Mr. Price's ingenious Essay on that subject. 
 
 Seats should not be too numerous ; and 
 some attention is requisite, in allotting to 
 them their proper situations. Beneath the 
 venerable tree, the aged thorn, the sheltering 
 thicket, or the moss-grown bank, are the 
 most common, as well as, in general, the 
 most proper situations for them. In their 
 construction little else is required, than to be 
 
 careful 
 
77 
 
 careful that they offend not by their formality 
 or their colour. The rude stone, the root of 
 a tree, or a piece of plank supported by posts, 
 are any of them in character. 1 have seen 
 chairs made of the twisted branches of the 
 oak or elm, truly grotesque, and well adapted 
 to the cottage garden ; for in that situation 
 such fantastic seats may be admitted ; but at 
 a distance, where the pleasure is supposed to 
 exist in the serenity or beauty of the scene, 
 first impressions should not be broken ; no 
 frivolous ornament should impertinently in- 
 trude itself to interrupt the repose. The seat 
 should be useful, but nothing more ; even 
 the beauty of the rugged old tree, that spreads 
 its broad umbrage on the turf beneath, should 
 not for a moment have the attention called 
 from its venerable form by the interference 
 of art. 
 
 The hut, or covered seat, as more an 
 object in itself, may with propriety occupy 
 the sheltered corner of some grove or thicket; 
 where it may form a pleasing feature in the 
 landscape, and, at the same time, a retreat 
 from the vicissitudes of heat or wet. 
 
 The 
 
7S 
 
 " The coverMscat, that slickers from the storm, 
 3. lay oft' a feature in the landscape form ; 
 Whether, compos' d of native stumps and roots, 
 It spreads the creeper's rich fantastic shoots ; 
 Or rais'd with stones, irregularly pil'd, 
 It seems some cavern desolate and wild. 
 But still of dress and ornament beware, 
 And hide each formal trace of art with care ; 
 Let clustering ivy o'er its sides be spread, 
 And moss and weeds grow scatter'd o'er its head." 
 
 Knighfs Landscape. 
 
 For the shed, or hovel, little instruction 
 is necessary ; suffice it to say, that it should 
 be in character with the rest ; yet nothing 
 should be slovenly ; at the same time, too 
 much care and trimness of appearance should 
 be equally avoided ; and though, by its situa- 
 tion, it may be intended as ornamental, let it 
 appear what it really is, an object of utility. 
 
 The walls may be composed of various 
 materials ; bats made of clay and cut straw, 
 roots, stone, stud-work with lath and plaster, 
 rough-cast, and thatched with reed, straw, 
 or rushes. 
 
 With regard to the grounds near the 
 house, neatness should be attended to ; or, to 
 
 use 
 
79 
 
 use other words, a rather more dressed ap- 
 pearance may he allowed ; here, both shrubs 
 and flowers may lend their assistance, and 
 blend themselves with the garden and orchard; 
 all of which may be united to the lawn, 
 perhaps better, by a simple rail left of its na- 
 tural colour (which, I think, is to be pre- 
 ferred), or painted of an obscure green, than 
 by any other means. At all events, there 
 must be some kind of fence; it is advisable, 
 therefore, to chuse that which is most in 
 character, and least offensive. The com- 
 mon hedge-fence is clumsy and slovenly ; it 
 may be suitable to the inferior cottage ; but 
 in the ornamented one can scarcely be ad- 
 mitted, particularly in front. The ha ! ha ! 
 partakes too much of art for cottage scenery, 
 and docs not unite with the character of the 
 design. The rail, on the contrary, which in 
 many situations is obtrusive, in this, I think, 
 rather assists than offends in character. 
 
 The rail-fence, in uneven ground, or 
 among trees and shrubs, sometimes concealed, 
 at other times disclosed, as the wood recedes, 
 or the ground rises, is a source of picturesque 
 effect that is generally pleasing. Even in the 
 
 extended 
 
80 
 
 extended scenery of the park, where the 
 great object is to conceal the boundary, the 
 old paling (as a back ground to the stems of 
 the trees) covered with moss, and, as it some- 
 times is, strongly touched with the rays of 
 an evening sun, is, nevertheless, an object 
 that pleases as much in nature as in a picture. 
 
 As a boundary fence where conceal- 
 ment is required, nothing seems to be so ap- 
 plicable to the purpose, as the kind of fence 
 suggested by Mr. Price, where trees, yews, 
 thorns, and hollies are combined. The ir- 
 regular form of such an outline, the extreme 
 thickness of the fence, and the varied hues 
 which it presents, together with the little 
 space that it occupies, certainly gives it the 
 superiority over the best designed fence that 
 can be imagined. 
 
 Upon the lawn may be admitted horses, 
 cows, and sheep ; for these tend greatly to 
 enhance the picturesque character of the 
 scene, by imparting life and motion ; and, 
 as Mr. Repton justly observes, they assist the 
 perspective in the highest degree. 
 
 Their 
 
81 
 
 Their forms, either singly or in groups, 
 are ever varying; and their different degrees of 
 fore-shortening, whether in motion, standing 
 still, or in a state of recumbency, make their 
 situations as various as pleasing. 
 
 A well-disposed group of cattle under 
 the shade of a rough and venerable tree, or, 
 what is still more happy, enjoying the re- 
 freshing coolness of some glassy pool, that 
 spreads its transparent surface beneath the 
 shelter of a darkened copse, is among the 
 most beautiful scenes of animated nature, and 
 one of the sweetest accompaniments of cot- 
 tage scenery ; forming objects well suited to 
 the pencil of a Bercham. 
 
 " Oft pleas'd we see, in some sequester'd glade, 
 
 The cattle seek the aged pollard's shade ; 
 
 Or, on the hillock's swelling turf reclin'd, 
 
 Snuff the cool breeze, and catch the passing wind 
 
 Oft too, when, shelter'd from the winter's cold, 
 
 In graceful groups they crowd the litter' d fold, 
 
 Their varied forms, and blended colours gay, 
 
 Mild scenes of simple elegance display ; 
 
 And with faint gleams of social comfort charm 
 
 The humble beauties of the lowly farm." 
 
 Knight's Landscape. 
 G From 
 
82 
 
 From the cottage lawn the scythe should 
 be excluded, unless the grass be suffered to 
 grow for use ; the rolled and shaven lawn is 
 out of place among the scenes of the orna- 
 mented cottage. On this subject little more 
 remains to be said ; much must depend upon 
 the genius of the place, and even more upon 
 the taste of the proprietor : so much, indeed, 
 does every thing depend upon the latter, that 
 by his conduct the best situation may be 
 spoiled, or the worst be rendered pleasing. 
 
 The improver who keeps the following 
 lines in his mind will not, in all probability, 
 deviate far from the path which he ought to 
 pursue. 
 
 f* First follow nature, and your judgment frame 
 By her just standard, which is still the same : , 
 Unerring nature ! still divinely bright, 
 One clear, unchang'd, and universal light, 
 Life, force, and beaut} 7 , must to all impart, 
 At once the source, the end, and test of art." 
 
 Pope. 
 
 The next and last objects to be considered 
 in this Essay are, gates and stiles, which may 
 be various in their forms. Gates, with per- 
 pendicular lines, seem best adapted to cottage 
 
 scenery, 
 
83 
 
 scenery, and may wear something of a Gothic 
 form. They may also be made, in their 
 different parts, with the different implements 
 of husbandry — forks, rakes, and scythes; the 
 irregular forms of the harrow, the hurdle, or 
 the lift, may also be combined with some 
 of these. 
 
 The property of a gate should be light- 
 ness, let its form be what it may : the stile, 
 on the contrary, requires firmness and stabi- 
 lity ; the posts, ledges, and footstool should 
 be stout, and closely put together; and should 
 not only be actually capable of sustaining 
 any weight imposed on it, but seem to be so. 
 
 The stile should also be of the simplest 
 form ; complexity would only serve to render 
 its ascent difficult, which, even in appear- 
 ance, should be avoided. In point of colour, 
 both gates and stiles should correspond with 
 the other parts of the same design ; the en- 
 deavour to preserve unity, even in the most 
 trivial instances, cannot be too much com- 
 mended. 
 
 The common gate, the stile, or the 
 G 2 simple 
 
84 
 
 simple seat beneath the tree, are objects of 
 utility, seldom of ornament ; of course, they 
 should be kept in their proper places. The 
 white gate is frequently a disgusting object; 
 the harmony of the most beautiful field may 
 be spoiled by its intrusion ; it is continually 
 striving for pre-eminence, and attracts the 
 eye in spite of itself. 
 
 An iron gate in cottage scenery, be its 
 form or colour what it may, is still more 
 absurd ; but, whatever may be said of its im- 
 propriety, we not unfrequently see small iron 
 gates painted of a deep lead colour, sup- 
 ported by white posts ; and, as if not in them- 
 selves sufficiently ridiculous, stuck in every 
 possible situation where a gate can be placed; 
 if it happen to be against a rising ground, 
 perhaps, to crown the whole, we have a 
 flight of brick steps. In humble scenes, the 
 iron gate is every way offensive ; even the 
 sound in its falling-to, is shrill, harsh, and 
 dissonant, and disturbs the tranquillity of the 
 scene. The shutting of a gate, in the still- 
 ness of evening, is a sound that creates an 
 interest. The expected return of a friend, 
 the solitary peasant retiring from his labour, 
 
 its 
 
85 
 
 its echoes among the woods ; each of these 
 affords a theme of reflection ; even the sound 
 itself is pleasing, cither mingled with other 
 sounds, or breaking for a moment the silence 
 that reigns around. 
 
 It may be worth while to inquire, how 
 far inscriptions are applicable to the scenes of 
 the ornamented cottage. If, as sometimes 
 is the case, there be a small farm attached to 
 it, I think, employed with great caution, 
 they may have their effect ; but, unless there 
 be a certain degree of space, all superfluous 
 things appear affected. Shenstone, we know, 
 at the Leasowes, and many others, have 
 availed themselves of them with advantage ; 
 but so much does the effect of any thing de- 
 pend upon the application of it, that it may 
 almost truly be said to be all and all. To 
 the retired seat then, or moss-grown hermi- 
 tage ; or, perhaps, in some instances, even to 
 the cottage itself, I should not hesitate to affix 
 an inscription, provided there were any par- 
 ticular circumstance in the scenery, &c. to 
 call it forth. 
 
 G 3, The 
 
8(5 
 
 The retrospect of past events, the death 
 of a friend, the uncertainty of life, and the 
 pleasures of rural retirement, are all themes 
 that have been the constant and elegant 
 sources of such effusions. 
 
ESSAY III. 
 
 Ah ! happy is the man whose early lot 
 
 Hath made him master of a fumish'd cot ; 
 
 Who trains the vine that round his window grows, 
 
 And after setting sun his garden hoes ; 
 
 Whose wattled pales his own enclosure shield, 
 
 Who toils not daily in another's fieid ! 
 
 Poems describing certain Views of Nature, 
 
 G 4 
 
ESSAY III. 
 
 Among the improvements of a gentle- 
 man's estate, I think, there can be none more 
 grateful to the feelings of the owner, than an 
 attention to the habitations of the labouring 
 poor residing upon it. Few things, however, 
 are less attended to, if one may form a judg- 
 ment from their general appearance, than 
 such cottages ; which are, for the most part, 
 sordid and miserable to the last degree, equally- 
 injurious to the health and morals of the 
 inhabitants, and not less so to the ideas that 
 we are led to form of the humanity of the 
 man, who, while living in all the luxury and 
 ease that a splendid habitation and a well- 
 furnished table afford, can calmly pass the 
 squallid dwelling of his lowly tenant, and not 
 feel himself inclined to repair a monument 
 that reflects such indelible disgrace upon his 
 philanthropy. 
 
 Where 
 
90 
 
 Where the inclination to perform a good 
 action is wanting, arguments, such as they 
 are, will always be readily found to answer 
 the purpose : those made use of in defence 
 of this neglect are, the ingratitude with which 
 acts of kindness arc too frequently repaid, 
 and the natural tendency to filth and sloth 
 which prevails among the lower classes of the 
 people. 
 
 Without endeavouring here to determine 
 how far truth does really exist in these argu- 
 ments, I beg leave to ask, with respect to the 
 first position, what gratitude is due to a man 
 who exacts an exorbitant rent for a hovel, 
 that frequently will not defend its inhabitants 
 from the inclemency of the seasons ? And, 
 secondly, as to cleanliness ; how is it in the 
 power of a family, consisting perhaps of from 
 eight. to ten, or a dozen persons, crammed 
 into a wretched hovel, seldom comprising 
 more than two, and sometimes only one 
 apartment, to be otherwise than dirty ? They 
 have not the opportunity to be clean ; and, 
 this allowed, is it to be wondered at that filth 
 becomes habitual ? Of this melancholy truth 
 there needs no proof to those whose business, 
 
 or 
 
91 
 
 or charitable inclinations, lead them frequent- 
 ly into the habitations of the poor. Let not 
 the man of large fortune suffer the spectre 
 Ingratitude to haunt his imagination, and 
 prevent a trial. Let him, overflowing with 
 the milk of human kindness, hope to meet 
 a suitable return ; yet, if disappointed, con- 
 sider that ingratitude is a vice, not wholly 
 confined to the poor. 
 
 After mature reflection upon this subject, 
 I am inclined to think, that the general con- 
 dition of the labouring poor might be ma- 
 terially bettered ; and that the landlord, in- 
 dependent of the satisfaction which must ever 
 arise from conferring happiness on others, 
 would ultimately be a gainer. 
 
 But it is not a comfortable habitation 
 alone that can produce this beneficial con- 
 sequence. While the whole of the land is 
 engrossed by the farmer, little is to be ex- 
 pected. With the exception of a few in- 
 stances, the cottager pays to the full amount 
 for every thing that he purchases from that 
 quarter ; therefore, unless placed in a certain 
 degree beyond the farmer's power, yet with- 
 out 
 
92 
 
 out making him independent, all exertion to 
 improve his situation, and, as far as is con- 
 nected with it, that of the community, will be 
 ineffectual. 
 
 In the disposal of farms, it is certainly 
 in the land-owner's power to reserve any 
 proportion that he pleases, which might be 
 allotted to cottages ; we will say, for instance, 
 four acres to each ; less would scarcely be 
 sufficient for the proper maintenance of a cow 
 or tzvo, that grand source of happiness and 
 real comfort to the poor man's family. Instead 
 of which, both land and cottages are let to 
 the farmer, who becomes responsible for the 
 whole, without any further trouble or interest 
 to the landlord, and who knows too well the 
 sweets arising from its produce to part with 
 it again on any terms. Even the cottager's 
 garden has not unfrequently fallen a sacrifice 
 to his rapacity : this is by no means an un- 
 common case, and calls for serious consider- 
 ation. The peasant may indeed well ex- 
 claim, 
 
 " Whence comes this change, ungracious, irksome, 
 
 cold ? 
 Whence the new grandeur that mine eyes behold ? 
 
 The 
 
93 
 
 The wid'ning distance which I daily see ? 
 
 Has Wealth done this ? Then Wealth's a foe to me ; 
 
 Foe to our rights ; that leaves a powerful few 
 
 The paths of emulation to pursue : 
 
 For emulation stoops to us no more ; 
 
 The hope of humble industry is o'er ; 
 
 The blameless hope, the cheering sweet presage 
 
 Of future comforts for declining age. 
 
 Can my sons share from this paternal hand 
 
 The profits with the labours of the land ? 
 
 No ; tho' indulgent Hcav'n its blessing deigns, 
 
 Where's the small farm, to suit my scanty means ? 
 
 Content, the poet sings, with us resides, 
 
 In lonely cots like mine the damsel hides ; 
 
 And will he then in raptur'd visions tell 
 
 That sweet Content with Want can ever dwell ? 
 
 A barley loaf, 'tis true, my table crowns, 
 
 That, fast diminishing in lusty rounds, 
 
 Stops Nature's cravings ; yet her sighs wiil flow 
 
 From knowing; this ; — that once it was not so." 
 
 BloomfielcTs Fauna's Boy. 
 
 The advantages of a cow or two, under 
 the before-mentioned circumstances, are real 
 blessings : health, comfort, cleanliness, and, 
 above all, the ability to act honestly, by be- 
 ing placed in some measure out of the reach 
 of temptation, urged by actual necessity, 
 may certainly be classed among the foremost 
 
 of 
 
94* 
 
 of those blessings, which it is in the power of 
 every man of fortune to bestow *. 
 
 Such resources would not only enable 
 the poor tenant to pay his rent, and ease his 
 mind of that heavy burden ; but at the same 
 time stimulate him and his family to indus- 
 try, by giving him an idea that he held some 
 rank in society, and that he was not created 
 merely for the felicity of others. 
 
 My 
 
 * " Small detached farms, adapted to useful and 
 laborious life, unmixed with the splendours of opulence, 
 but supporters of national wealth, are indeed objects 
 of interest in every point of view ; they want not the 
 adventitious and picturesque effect to attract peculiar 
 notice; to a benevolent mind, they are more than 
 objects of beauty ; they are blessings to society ; nor 
 is it incompatible with the pursuit of pleasure, some- 
 times to leave the boundaries of the park, and watch 
 the exertions of laudable industry, or visit the cottages 
 
 " Where cheerful tenants bless their yearly toil." 
 
 The monopolist only can contemplate with delight 
 his hundred acres of wheat in a single enclosure ; such 
 expanded avarice may enrich the man, but will im- 
 poverish and distress, and (I had almost added) will 
 ultimately starve mankind." 
 
 Mr. Repton on Landscape Gardening. 
 
95 
 
 My profession, daily leading me into 
 the habitations of the poor, has occasioned 
 me to regard their situations with accuracy, 
 and to observe the difference arising between 
 them from favourable or adverse circum- 
 stances ; and hence I can speak with some 
 confidence upon the subject. 
 
 In one particular village which has fal- 
 len under my notice, where the cottages are 
 remarkably comfortable, and where most of 
 the tenants have the advantage of an orchard, 
 there is very little poverty ; and I have in- 
 variably found, that where the greatest degree 
 of poverty did prevail, this accommodation 
 was denied. Among the many instances of 
 comfort which were to be found in this vil- 
 lage, I shall relate one of a poor man, who 
 brought up a very large family (I believe ten 
 children), and was enabled to pay a yearly rent 
 of eight pounds for his cottage and orchard ; 
 from the produce of which, and the cow 
 that it enabled him to keep, he alone derived 
 the comforts that he enjoyed beyond the pro- 
 duce of his labour. 
 
 Whatever is an incitement to industry is 
 
 also 
 
96 
 
 also a stimulus to cleanliness ; and few things 
 teach the latter virtue in greater perfection, 
 than the management of a dairy. It also 
 affords constant employment to the younger 
 branches of a family ; and is of infinite use, 
 by giving them early habits of industry, 
 which is the surest guide to virtue and hap- 
 piness. 
 
 Infancy passed in sloth and filth will, 
 most probably, end in poverty and immo- 
 rality ; against which nothing can be so ef- 
 fectual a guard, as the early period of life be- 
 ing actively and properly employed. 
 
 We are apt to deprecate idleness, with- 
 out giving a sufficient degree of encourage- 
 ment to industry; and, indeed, it too often 
 happens, that the idle and the clamorous, 
 generally combined, are attended to, while 
 the quiet and industrious person too fre* 
 quently goes unregarded : 
 
 " ■ Choosing, rather far, 
 
 A dry but independent crust, hard earn'd 
 
 And eaten with a sigh, than to endure 
 
 The rugged frowns and insolent rebuffs 
 
 Of knaves in office, partial in the work 
 
 Of distribution j liberal of their aid 
 
 To 
 
97 
 
 To clam'rous importunity in rags ; 
 But oft'times deaf to suppliants who would blush 
 To wear a tatter'd garb however coarse, 
 Whom famine cannot reconcile to filth : 
 These ask with painful shyness, and, refus'd 
 Because deserving, silently retire." 
 
 COWPER. 
 
 If small portions of land were more ge- 
 nerally allotted to the cottages of the poor, I 
 am persuaded that the most beneficial con- 
 sequences would be extended far and wide. 
 It would then be the labourer's own fault, if, 
 with such advantages, (unless illness, or any 
 great misfortune befel him) he did not pro- 
 vide comfortably for his family by the fruits 
 of his labour ; and I have not a doubt, but 
 that a considerable reduction in the poors' 
 rates would be the consequence of a plan of 
 this nature. Magistrates would not then be 
 so frequently troubled with complaints ; or, 
 if they were, they would not have the same 
 reason for attending to them. 
 
 In order to the forming some idea of 
 the utility of this plan, I beg leave to submit 
 the following calculation ; which, though only 
 
 H a ge- 
 
H 
 
 a general idea, is perhaps not far from the 
 truth. I will suppose the labourer to pay, for 
 four acres of land, the annual rent of six 
 pounds ; for his cottage forty shillings ; and 
 the necessary expenses of tillage, &c. without 
 including his own labour, to amount to forty 
 shillings more : this would make his outgo- 
 ings amount to ten pounds. I will now sup- 
 pose the produce of this land, with the as- 
 sistance of a couple of cows, pigs, &c. to 
 amount to thirty pounds, from which is to 
 be deducted the above ten pounds for rent 
 and expenses ; leaving a balance in favour of 
 the tenant of no less a sum than twenty 
 pounds, or eight shillings a week ; equal at 
 least to the value of two-thirds of his daily 
 labour. 
 
 After these remarks were written, Mr* 
 Kent's Agricultural Report of Kent fell into 
 my hands. Never having made rural ceco- 
 nomics my study, farther than as they relate 
 to buildings, woods, and grounds in a pictu- 
 resque point of view, combined with a sincere 
 wish to see happiness as well as beauty equally 
 diffused around, I could not but be highly 
 
 gratified 
 
99 
 
 gratified in finding arguments deduced, with 
 so much good sense, from experience so ex- 
 actly corresponding with my own. 
 
 " The poors' rates have increased in this 
 county in a full proportion to others ; and, 
 with a view of stopping this increase, several 
 houses of industry have been established ; but 
 they are grievous things in the eyes of the 
 poor, and, I am afraid, are not found to an- 
 swer the end that was expected from them. 
 I know of no law that can enforce industry ; 
 it may be encouraged, and great good will 
 result from it ; but it can never be effected 
 by compulsion. 
 
 " There are two principles which should 
 be kept alive, as much as possible, in the 
 minds of the poor ; pride and shame. The 
 former will lead them to the attainment of 
 comfort by honest means ; and the latter will 
 keep them from becoming burthensome to 
 their neighbours. But many of the modern 
 plans for making provisions for them have 
 tended to destroy these principles. 
 
 " A man born to no inheritance, who 
 H 2 assiduously 
 
100 
 
 assiduously devotes bis whole life to labour, 
 when nature declines, has as great a claim 
 upon the neighbourhood where the labours of 
 his youth have been devoted, as the worn-out 
 soldier or sailor has to Chelsea or Greenwich; 
 and this reward ought to be as honourable as 
 it is comfortable ; and not to be administered 
 in a way that is repugnant to the natural love 
 of rational freedom, which every human mind 
 sympathizes in the enjoyment of. Such a 
 man as I have characterized ought to be dis- 
 tinguished from the lazy and profligate wretch 
 who has seldom worked but by force. The 
 one ought not to be crowded into the same 
 habitation with the other : but in houses of 
 industry there can be no distinction. 
 
 " There is one thing which is incum- 
 bent on all great farmers to do ; and that is, 
 to provide comfortable cottages for two or 
 three of their most industrious labourers, and 
 to lay two or three acres of grass land to 
 each, to enable such labourers to keep a cow 
 and a pig. Such a man is always a faithful 
 servant to the farmer who employs him ; he 
 has a stake in the common interest of the 
 country, and is never prompt to riot in time 
 
 of 
 
101 
 
 of sedition, like the man who has nothing to 
 lose ; on the contrary, he is a strong link in 
 the chain of national security. 
 
 " There are but few great farmers, how- 
 ever, who are inclined to accommodate cot- 
 tagers with these little portions of land ; and 
 when they do let them any, it is generally at 
 double the rent thev give for it. But I am 
 persuaded, that if there were a certain num- 
 ber of cottages, of this description, in propor- 
 tion to the size of the estates, and they were 
 accommodated in this manner, and those 
 places were bestowed as a reward to labourers 
 of particular good conduct, it would do won- 
 ders toward the reduction of the rates, and the 
 preservation of order ; for I have been witness 
 to several striking proofs of this, in two or 
 three labourers who have been thus favoured, 
 whose attachment to their masters was exem- 
 plary, as they were not only steady in them- 
 selves, but by their example kept others from 
 running into excess. There cannot well be 
 too many of these places attached to large 
 farms ; they would be the most prolific cra- 
 dles of the best sort of population." 
 
 H 3 Mr, 
 
102 
 
 Mr. Kent seems to be truly sensible of 
 the principle, that self is the first object, not 
 only with the farmer, but with mankind in 
 general. The comforts of the cottage ought 
 not, however, to be left at the disposal of the 
 farmer. If the land-owner, as is often the 
 case, happen to be a gentleman with a liberal 
 mind, he is the most likely person, not only 
 to see the propriety of such a plan, but to 
 carry it into execution with effect. 
 
 The cottage system, I am persuaded, 
 need only be carried to its extent to render 
 England indeed a paradise. Its influence 
 would not be confined to the tenants them- 
 selves, or to the country. Large and populous 
 towns would soon be sensible of the advan- 
 tages resulting from it. The overplus (for an 
 overplus there would ever be, and that no in- 
 considerable one) would tend to supply the 
 neighbourhood, if not the public markets ; 
 and even if it did neither, the cottages would 
 have a supply within themselves, and not, as 
 they do now, add with the rest, in times of 
 dearth, to the public scarcity. 
 
 I am convinced that the scheme is not 
 
 a vi- 
 
103 
 
 a visionary one ; and the man of fortune who 
 would put it in execution, and promote it 
 with his full interest, would be more than 
 entitled to the praise which Virgil bestowed 
 upon Augustus for the restoration of his 
 farm : 
 
 x( O Meliboee, deus nobis haec otia fecit. 
 Namque erit ille mihi semper deus : illius aram 
 Srepe tener nostris ab ovilibus imbuet agnus. 
 Ille meas errareboves, ut cernis, et ipsum 
 Ludere, quae vellem, calamo permisit agrcsti." 
 
 Virgil. Ecl. 
 
 Charity is never so well bestowed, as 
 when it tends to promote industry ; and if the 
 reasoning that has been made use of is found- 
 ed in truth *, the neglect is the more un- 
 pardonable, as it may be dispensed with- 
 it 4 out 
 
 * For instances in proof of these arguments, the 
 reader is referred to the Reports of the " Society for 
 bettering the Condition of the Poor ;" where, amongst 
 a great variety of plans adopted (and which do equal 
 credit both to the heads and hearts of the different 
 members of so excellent an institution) the papers 
 under the following numbers, 8, 14, 17, 53, and 83, 
 will, I trust, be found not only particularly applicable 
 to the arguments of this Essay, but highly interesting 
 in themselves, and honourable to the promoters of the 
 plans which they contain, 
 
104 
 
 out being felt by the bestower. The entire 
 gift of a cow would be of far less advantage, 
 than the letting of land, even at the highest 
 rent; it would, in my opinion, with no other 
 advantage than the ordinary feed of cottager's 
 cows, be rather injurious than beneficial. 
 Those commons which still remain unin. 
 closed (and in a short time, I fear, there will 
 be but few even of them) are in general so 
 overstocked, that they afford little more than 
 stowage ; and to purchase feed of the farmer 
 (for I have known the enormous sum of seven 
 shillings a week paid for the winter feed of 
 one cow) is more than the labourer can af- 
 ford ; the deficiency must therefore be made 
 up in some way or oilier ; too frequently, I 
 fear, at the expense of some more wealthy 
 neighbour ; or, if this be not the case, the 
 poor animal lingers through the winter with 
 barely sufficient to keep her in existence ; of 
 course, produces no profit ; and not unfre- 
 quently, from the same cause, is reduced to 
 such extreme weakness, as to be lost in bring- 
 ing forth her young. For the truth of this 
 we need but appeal to the number of briefs 
 and petitions that are put into our hands : 
 within a fortnight in the present year, 1800, 
 
 I have 
 
105 
 
 I have seen no fewer than five different ones, 
 all for the loss of cows from the above cause ; 
 and that the loss was sustained in almost every- 
 one of these instances, if not in all, for want 
 of the animal's having a sufficient supply of 
 food, I have not the smallest doubt : how, 
 indeed, should it be otherwise, when turnips 
 sold as high as seven or eight guineas per 
 acre, and hay and straw were proportionally 
 dear ? 
 
 We cannot much wonder, therefore, that 
 depredations on a neighbourhood are com- 
 mitted, when we consider the scarcity and 
 exorbitant price of every necessary article of 
 life ; and which must be the case so long as 
 the great farmer is allowed to monopolize 
 every acre ; a few of which, distributed in 
 small parcels, would not only encourage ho- 
 nesty by doing away necessity, but confer 
 plenty, and of course happiness, on thou- 
 sands. 
 
 The care also that must be exercised in 
 small parcels of land, renders them propor- 
 tionally more productive than larger tracts, 
 where a little mismanagement is not so easily 
 
 felt, 
 
106 
 
 felt, nor of such injurious consequence to the 
 larger occupier ; and where losses are more 
 likely to ensue from the business being left 
 too much to the care, and consequently to the 
 carelessness, of servants. 
 
 If the cottager were permitted to oc- 
 cupy a sufficient quantity of land to maintain 
 a cow or two, the common complaint used by 
 farmers, of their employing dishonest means 
 to support themselves, would, I think, be effec- 
 tually done away. Only set aside such abject 
 poverty, and from honest minds the depravity 
 complained of will vanish : where, indeed, 
 dishonesty arises from principle, or long habit, 
 whether in rich or poor, you may try to era- 
 dicate it, but, I fear, in vain. 
 
 In a picturesque view, there is no part 
 of an estate wherein taste may be displayed 
 at a more inconsiderable expense, and with 
 greater effect, than in the management of its 
 cottages. Each being varied in its situation 
 from another, by attending to circumstances, 
 and observing a certain degree of variation in 
 the structure of the buildings, the whole are 
 made to produce a new and pleasing picture ; 
 
 pleasing 
 
107 
 
 pleasing in every point of view, whether wc 
 consider them as the peaceful dwellings of 
 those who are indebted to the rich for the 
 comforts they enjoy ; or as affording that va- 
 riety of picturesque effect which no other 
 scenery can produce in a superior degree ; 
 particularly with those surrounding appen- 
 dages, upon which we know that comfort so 
 much depends. 
 
 The idea of plenty naturally attached to 
 the sight of the cow, the pig, and the poul- 
 try; the industrious attention of the house- 
 wife, with those of her family who are capa- 
 ble of assisting in domestic duties ; and the 
 amusement which they afford to such as are 
 too young to be usefully employed, — are all 
 circumstances of the highest delight to a be- 
 nevolent mind. There is also a peculiar 
 pleasure in contemplating such animated 
 scenes as we look for in vain from the most 
 perfect landscape where that source is wanting. 
 The contrast between animate and inanimate 
 objects is as striking as it is pleasing. Herds, 
 flocks, and human dwellings, fill up va- 
 cancies with the most agreeable forms and 
 combinations, and assist in calling forth an 
 
 association 
 
108 
 
 association of ideas tending greatly to heighten 
 the beauty of the scene. 
 
 " Home from his morning task the swain retreats ; 
 
 His flock before him stepping to the fold : 
 
 While the full-uddered mother lows around 
 
 The cheerful cottage, then expecting food, 
 
 The food of innocence, and health ! The daw, 
 
 The rook and magpie, to the grey-grown oaks, 
 
 That the calm village in their verdant arms, 
 
 Sheltering, embrace, direct their lazy flight ; 
 
 Where on the mingling boughs they sit embower'd 
 
 All the hot noon, till cooler hours arise. 
 
 Faint, underneath, the household fowls convene ; 
 
 And, in a corner of the buzzing shade, 
 
 The house-dog, with the vacant greyhound, lies 
 
 Outstretch'd, and sleepy. In his slumbers, one 
 
 Attacks the nightly thief, and one exults 
 
 O'er hill and dale ; till, waken'd by the wasp, 
 
 They starting snap. Nor shall the muse disdain 
 
 To let the little noisy summer-race 
 
 Live in her lay, and flutter thro' her song : 
 
 Not mean, tho' simple ; to the sun ally'd, 
 
 From him they draw their animating fire." 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 So greatly does the beauty of a village 
 depend upon the character of these humble 
 dwellings, that we are led from this circum- 
 stance to form, in passing through it, the idea 
 of its general character ; which investigation 
 also reverts to the superior possessor, whose 
 
 character 
 
109 
 
 character we contemplate with that degree of 
 pleasure or pain, which is excited by the ap- 
 pearance of comfort, or of misery, exhibited 
 to our view. 
 
 Indeed, in every instance I could wish 
 to see the following lines exemplified in the 
 fullest extent : 
 
 " From every chimney mounts the curling smoke, 
 Muddy and grey, of the new evening fire ; 
 On every window smokes the fam'ly supper, 
 Set out to cool by the attentive housewife, 
 While cheerful groups at every door conven'd 
 Bawl cross the narrow lane the parish news, 
 And oft the bursting laugh disturbs the air." 
 
 Poems describing certain Views of Nature. 
 
 In the management of the peasant's cot- 
 tage, nothing but the greatest degree of 
 simplicity* is required. If the adorned cottage 
 
 will 
 
 * Simplicity may, I think, properly be defined in 
 two different ways. First, that kind of simplicity which 
 is allied to grandeur ; to produce which requires mag- 
 nitude with little ornament. 
 
 Secondly, That kind of simplicity which is more 
 nearly allied to humility ; any thing that involuntarily, 
 but unaffectedly, produces a pleasing effect : thus, we 
 
 call 
 
110 
 
 wiH bear so little decoration, even that little 
 here would be absurd : all superfluous orna- 
 ments are out of the question ; they are not 
 necessary to the existence, or to the comfort 
 of the inhabitant ; and so far is unnecessary 
 ornament from producing that happy cha- 
 racter which is the very life and soul of cot- 
 tage scenery, that it is almost the certain 
 means of destroying it. 
 
 All those various circumstances which 
 produce so pleasing an effect, as well in nature 
 as in painting, arise from sources generally 
 
 the 
 
 call a pretty but unaffected woman, plainly dressed, 
 with perhaps a pale pink ribband so placed about her 
 head-dress as to impart its glow to her features, a 
 simply elegant object. The snow-drop and the prim- 
 rose are also what may justly be called simple objects : 
 but to every simple object, whether small or large, 
 modest tender colours seem to be essentials. Two 
 buildings, for instance, both of a like simple form, the 
 one of a beautiful stone-colour, and the other of a 
 glaring red, notwithstanding the similitude of its de- 
 sign or structure, will be widely different in their ef- 
 fects ; the former will obtain a character of simplicity-, 
 and probably acquire something of elegance, perhaps 
 even of beauty ; while the latter will possess neither the 
 one nor the other. 
 
Ill 
 
 the very reverse of ornamental. Those in- 
 numerable tints and stains, those incrustations 
 and enrichments, produced by the hand of 
 time ; those abruptnesses, such as the flaking 
 off of plaster, the partial exposure of a stud, 
 or piece of timber, or the chipping of a 
 buttress, have their full effect in giving those 
 spirited touches, which ornament can never 
 reach ; all of which may take place without 
 running to such an excess, as to display 
 wretchedness or produce inconvenience. 
 
 That the laudable pains and benevolent 
 expense attending the improvements of cot- 
 tages may not be frustrated by a dirty or 
 worthless tenant, no one should be permitted 
 to enjoy the advantages arising from them, 
 who did not conform to established rules, 
 particularly in the articles of cleanliness and 
 industry. They might be made the rewards 
 of faithful servitude ; the douceur of a lau- 
 dable ambition of keeping a family from a 
 parish ; or bestowed for any other quality that 
 might be esteemed worthy of such a consi- 
 deration. 
 
 Were such conditions as the foregoing 
 
 to 
 
112 
 
 to be those on which only such advantages 
 could be enjoyed, I have no doubt but they 
 would be the means of reforming many a 
 family from filth, wretchedness, and rags, and 
 turning their thoughts to decency and com- 
 fort. The conditions, at least, are easy; and 
 a good habitation, with a piece of land, must 
 be allowed to be powerful incentives, and 
 such as few, except the most abandoned, 
 could resist. 
 
 To the thoughtful and well-disposed, the 
 comfortable prospect which a situation of 
 this nature holds out to the time when age 
 and infirmities shall have enfeebled the pow^ 
 ers of industry, is not among the least of its 
 happy circumstances. 
 
 Gesner's description of a virtuous old 
 peasant past the powers of labour is so truly 
 pleasing, that I trust an apology for inserting 
 it is unnecessary : 
 
 " Menalcas was old. Fourscore years 
 had already bowed his head. The silver 
 hairs shadowed his forehead, and a snowy 
 beard flowed over his breast. A staff secured 
 
 his 
 
113 
 
 his tottering steps. As he who, after the la- 
 bours of a fair summer's day, in the cool 
 evening sits down content, and thanks the 
 gods, waiting for peaceful slumbers ; so Me- 
 nalcas consecrated the remainder of his days 
 to repose, and to the worship of the gods ; 
 for he had passed his life in labour and bene- 
 ficence, and therefore, tranquil and resigned, 
 he waited for the slumbers of the grave. 
 
 " Menalcas saw blessings diffused among 
 his children. He had given them numerous 
 flocks, and fruitful pastures. Full of tender 
 anxiety, they each one strove to cheer his 
 latter days, and to repay the care that he had 
 taken of their tender years. It is a duty that 
 the gods never leave unrecompensed. Often 
 seated at his cottage door, in the sun's gentle 
 warmth, he surveyed his gardens cultivated 
 witli the greatest care; and, far distant off, 
 the labours and the riches of the fields. With 
 an affable and courteous air, he engaged the 
 passengers to sit down by him ; gladly he 
 heard the news of neighbouring villages, and 
 was pleased to learn of strangers the manners 
 and customs of far distant countries. 
 
 I " His 
 
114 
 
 '* His children, and his childrens' chil* 
 dren, came playing about him, the most de- 
 lightful ornaments of his age." 
 
 Can a benevolent heart contemplate a 
 more delightful picture than that of indus- 
 trious age seated in the lap of ease ? The 
 countenance once flushed with all the anima- 
 tion of health and youth, not transformed by 
 poverty nor soured by neglect, but settled 
 into peaceful resignation, crowned with con- 
 tent, and beaming with thankfulness to his 
 Creator, and complacency to every object 
 that surrounds him. 
 
 Formerly this was no uncommon cha- 
 racter among the English peasantry. Those 
 things described which are seldom seen, are, 
 I know, apt to be construed as visionary 
 imaginations, fictions of the brain ; but such 
 a character as the above is no fiction, it exists 
 even now, though unhappily but rarely met 
 with. 
 
 Let us hope, however, that to our pos- 
 terity the patriaich peasant will be not only an 
 
 existing, 
 
115 
 
 existing, but a striking and happy feature in 
 English scenery. 
 
 Having entered thus far into the ap- 
 parent good, as well, as improvement in point 
 of picturesque beauty, resulting from an at- 
 tention to the habitations and the domestic 
 ceconomy of the poor, it becomes necessary 
 to give some kind of general outline that may 
 be proper to be adopted in this species of im- 
 provement. 
 
 A free circulation of air, and a dry situ- 
 ation, are as necessary to the preservation of 
 the health, as a proper separation of the sexes 
 is to the morals of a family. 
 
 Nothing is more obvious, than the injury 
 likely to result to both sexes, from such pro- 
 miscuous intercourse as must necessarily take 
 place where a large family are crowded to- 
 gether into one or two small apartments. 
 
 I have myself not unfrequently seen, in 
 
 my professional attendance on the sick, four, 
 
 and sometimes five persons huddled together 
 
 I 2 fn 
 
ii4 
 
 in the same apartment, nay, even in the same 
 miserable bed. Indeed, at the time of writ- 
 ing this, I have daily occasion to attend on 
 two families, whose cases are exactly in point. 
 One particularly, where a man, his wife and 
 three children, live and lodge in a hovel 
 (house I cannot call it), the dimensions of 
 which do not exceed seven feet by twelve : 
 this only room is applied to their every pur- 
 pose of life ; the bed's foot reaches within 
 twelve inches of the fire ; and the only side 
 where a passage is admitted between it and 
 the wall, has no better floor than the pavement 
 of the street. The apartment occupied by the 
 other family, though of larger dimensions, has 
 no floor at all. — These are by no means exag- 
 gerated accounts of a subject, on which hu- 
 manity revolts at the reflection. 
 
 Unless, therefore, under the particular 
 circumstance of a family's being so small as 
 to consist only of one or two persons, no cot- 
 tage ought to have less than four apartments, 
 viz. the kitchen and two bed-rooms ; with a 
 fourth, which, by partitioning off, might serve 
 as a wash-house, dairy, pantry, &c. All this 
 
 is 
 
117 
 
 is necessary for the smallest family above the 
 number before-mentioned. But, as it is im- 
 possible to expect neatness where there is want 
 of room, it would be more prudent to extend 
 the scale ; in which case, the wash-house and 
 dairy might be added as a lean-to, reserving 
 for a bed-room the apartment which would 
 otherwise be appropriated to those uses. 
 
 With regard to the materials to be em- 
 ployed in the construction of these buildings, 
 the same, principles are to be attended to as 
 have been already laid down in the construc- 
 tion of the ornamented cottage ; keeping in 
 mind, that the ornamented cottage is a degree 
 above, while that of the peasant is at least 
 one degree, perhaps two, in rank beneath, 
 the farm-house. 
 
 The character of humility is easily at- 
 tained, by attending to the height of the 
 building. The glaring * colours of bricks 
 
 and 
 
 * There is an idea of rural simplicity annexed to 
 a thatched cottage, that is very much in favour of 
 that covering ; and indeed the appearance of new 
 thatch, both for neatness and colour, is remarkably 
 
 I 3 pleasing, 
 
118 
 
 and tiles should be studiously avoided. The 
 method of building cottages at Pisa, in Italy, 
 
 (which 
 
 pleasing. It is no less picturesque when mossy, ragged, 
 and sunk in amongst the rafters in decay ; a species of 
 the picturesque, however, that has nothing to do with 
 the improvement of houses and their roofs. But be- 
 tween the two periods of neatness and decay, parti- 
 cularly in the approach towards the latter, thatch has 
 something of a damp dirty look ; and what would often 
 induce me to prefer tile or slate, that dampness is in- 
 creased, both in reality and appearance, by trees or 
 climbing plants hanging or creeping over it : whereas 
 any covering, of a hard material, may without injury 
 be half concealed by either of them ; and it rarely 
 happens that there is any thing in the look of a co- 
 vering, that could make one regret its partial con- 
 cealment. 
 
 Price on the Picturesque. 
 
 Thatch appears to me to have so decided a su- 
 periority over every other material as a covering for 
 rural buildings, that I cannot help taking every method 
 to promote its justly-acquired reputation. 
 
 From the moment it is laid on the building, it is 
 in unison with the landscape ; but the mellowing tints 
 of a few seasons give it an incomparable advantage as 
 a picturesque object, without imparting an appearance 
 of dampness or dirtiness, or rendering it less capable 
 of resisting all the rigours of winter. 
 
 An 
 
119 
 
 (which is fully related in the first vol. of the 
 " Communications to the Board of Agricul- 
 ture") 
 
 An object may appear in nature to be perfectly 
 picturesque ; yet, if transferred to canvass in the exact 
 state in which it appears, would fail in its pleasing 
 effect. New thatch is an object of this kind ; its form, 
 its colour, and the shadows occasioned by its bold pro- 
 jections from the building, are all of them better cal- 
 culated to please the eye in rural architecture, than 
 any other covering, and at the same time to blend 
 harmoniously with the rest of the landscape ; but in- 
 troduce the appearance of new thatch in a picture, 
 unaided by that richness of tint, with those innumera- 
 ble picturesque circumstances acquired by age, and, 
 instead of pleasing, it will be a formal and insipid 
 object. 
 
 Thatch, that through age has acquired so much of 
 rottenness as to give a great idea of dampness, or that 
 is verging towards the last stage of decay, however 
 picturesque, conveys more misery than a feeling mind 
 Avould be willing to believe fell to the lot of humanity: 
 in such a state, it ought to be wholly confined to the 
 representation of the landscape painter, who knows 
 how to appreciate its value. 
 
 Considering thatch, therefore, as indispensable in 
 
 rural architecture, I think, so far from reprobating a 
 
 material whose picturesque beauty is augmented by 
 
 age, it is one of its greatest recommendations j and 
 
 14 the 
 
120 t 
 
 ture")and much the same kind of thing which 
 is practised in some parts of Ireland, and in- 
 troduced into this country by the late Duke of 
 Bedford, I should think well adapted both for 
 cheapness and colour (if the work be capable of 
 resisting the frost, as I understand it is, being 
 worked dry) to all the purposes of the lower 
 kinds of cottage architecture. 
 
 Those windows which are placed in the 
 roof should be thatched over with the roof 
 itself; and, as picturesque effect, as well as 
 
 the 
 
 the time necessary to bring it to that state which would 
 render it miserable or dirty, would, I trust, be found 
 to make greater visible ravages in any other covering. 
 Tile or slate, in my opinion, can never equal it in 
 picturesque effect. Tile, particularly the red sort, is al- 
 ways out of harmony. Slate, with respect to its colour, 
 is certainly more eligible ; but, as it is a very expen- 
 sive covering in the eastern part of the kingdom, and 
 used only for houses of consequence, it is out of the 
 question in such situations. 
 
 Having received the greatest instruction, as well 
 as pleasure, from Mr. Price's truly ingenious works, I 
 would only be thought willing, by this digression, to 
 rescue a justly-esteemed material from any real or 
 imaginary objection, which, raised by such high au- 
 thority, might act to its prejudice. 
 
121 
 
 the small height of the building, require that 
 some of them should be placed in that situa- 
 tion, the casement to this kind of window 
 should be made as large as possible. In order 
 to moderate, as much as may be, the incon- 
 venience of a slanting roof, the walls might 
 be carried up a little higher than they usually 
 are before the roof is set on. 
 
 With regard to uniformity in the situa- 
 tion of doors and windows, I think that too 
 strict an adherence to that principle in cottage 
 architecture ought to be avoided. The pre- 
 vailing character of the cottage should be 
 that of picturesqueness ; of course, irregula- 
 rity and sudden deviation accord better with 
 it, than the symmetry of regular architec- 
 ture *. 
 
 In 
 
 * " On the opposite side of the road was the 
 parsonage-house, which exhibited a singular mixture 
 of neatness and irregularity. Something seemed to 
 have been added by each incumbent, just as a room, a 
 staircase, or a passage, was wanting : there were all 
 kinds of projections ; of differently shaped windows 
 and chimneys ; of rooms in odd corners ; of roofs 
 crossing each other in different directions. This curious 
 
 old 
 
122 
 
 In a mansion, or any building of con- 
 siderable magnitude, particularly after the 
 Grecian model, we expect to see a corre- 
 spondence of parts. In such buildings, the 
 eye is disgusted with any thing wearing the 
 appearance of irregularity : we survey it as a 
 piece of architecture which is intended to 
 command attention ; while in the cottage, 
 whether ornamented or not, we look only 
 for comfort and general effect; which I 
 think is altogether assisted, rather than in- 
 jured, by studying to make the situations of 
 particular parts of such buildings appear to 
 be more the effects of convenience, than ob- 
 jects of solicitous attention. 
 
 In this reasoning, however, I know that 
 1 am opposed ; but it is not the mere architect 
 
 by 
 
 old fabric was kept in the highest order ; part of it 
 was rough-east ; part only white-washed ; but the 
 Avhole of a pleasing quiet colour : vines, roses, jas- 
 mines and honey-suckles, flourished against the walls, 
 and hung over the old-fashioned porch ; a luxuriant 
 Virginia creeper grew quite to the top of a massy 
 stone chimney ; and shrubs and fruit trees were very 
 happily disposed, so as in some measure to disguise and 
 contrast the extreme irregularity of the building. 
 
 Price's Dialogue, p. 1 27. 
 
123 
 
 by profession that is perhaps always capable 
 of judging in this particular; for unless, 
 joined to his profession as an architect, he 
 has a knowledge of painting, he cannot re- 
 concile such deviations to the principles of his 
 art ; it is a system that strays too much from 
 symmetry and regularity (the standard that 
 guides all his ideas) to be tolerated. 
 
 That a strict attention to principles should 
 be the foundation of that knowledge which 
 is to raise him into fame, is indisputable ; but 
 these principles should he in some measure 
 laid aside when he condescends to give direc- 
 tions for a cottage or a shed ; there all affec- 
 tation should be avoided ; blank windows in 
 a cottage, for the sake of uniformity, would 
 be as absurd, as the neglect of this principle 
 would be in a palace. Moreover, in a house 
 upon a small scale, convenience is to be 
 studied in every instance ; and if this is at- 
 tended to (as it always should be) uniformity 
 must sometimes give way. 
 
 I grant that the ornamented cottage ad- 
 mits of a greater degree of embellishment 
 
 than 
 
124 
 
 than the habitation of the hind ; but still, if 
 it proceed to symmetrical affectation, the 
 elegant negligence of the design is lost, and 
 it is put upon a level with the formal upright, 
 attempted by the country carpenter. 
 
 In designing a mansion, or a villa, the 
 architect should bear in mind the models of 
 Palladio, the temples of Greece, or the palaces 
 of Rome ; but if the cottage partake of these, 
 it is pedantic, 
 
 Although the ornamented cottage may 
 be the residence of fashion or wealth, — where 
 good taste centres in either, it will comply 
 with the circumstances of the situation which 
 it has chosen ; and, provided it affords the 
 comforts of life, will not cavil, whether a 
 door, a window, or a chimney, be in strict 
 conformity to the architectural rules of sym- 
 metry; neither will this be expected. Wealth 
 and splendour retire to the cottage for the 
 sake of variety, and to enjoy themselves with- 
 in those contracted limits which cannot so 
 well be complied with surrounded by the ne- 
 cessary establishment of a great house; while 
 
 the 
 
125 
 
 the small but independant family seek it as 
 the asylum of comfort, and the abode of 
 tranquillity. 
 
 Besides the. opinion of Mr. Price (in the 
 note before quoted) in support of this part of 
 my argument, I am happy in having the 
 authority of Sir Joshua Reynolds ; who, to 
 the high rank which he held in his profes- 
 sion, added the most refined taste for all the 
 polite arts. His mind, too expanded to admit 
 of narrow prejudices, was regulated by the 
 nicest investigation, and the soundest judg- 
 ment. Whatever, therefore, is advanced on 
 such a foundation, is not merely leaned 
 upon ; its stability is sufficient to bear what- 
 ever burthen you chuse to impose upon it. 
 
 In his thirteenth discourse at the Royal 
 Academy he says, " It may not be amiss for 
 the architect to take advantage sometimes of 
 that to which I am sure the painter ought 
 always to have his eyes open, I mean the use 
 of accidents ; to follow when they lead, and 
 to improve them, rather than always trust to 
 a regular plan. It often happens, that addi- 
 tions have been made to houses, at various 
 
 times, 
 
126 
 
 times, for use or pleasure. As such buildings 
 depart from regularity, they now and then 
 acquire something of scenery by this acci- 
 dent, which I should think might not unsuc- 
 cessfully be adopted by an architect, in an 
 original plan, if it do not too much interfere 
 with convenience. 
 
 " Variety and intricacy is a beauty and 
 excellence in every other of the arts which 
 address the imagination; and why not in 
 architecture ? 
 
 " The forms and turnings of the streets 
 of London, and other old towns, are produced 
 by accident, without any original plan or 
 design ; but they are not always the less plea- 
 sant to a walker or spectator on that account; 
 on the contrary, if the city had been built on 
 the regular plan of Sir Christopher Wren, the 
 effect might have been, as we know it is in 
 some new parts of the town, rather unpleas- 
 ing ; the uniformity might have produced 
 weariness, and a slight degree of disgust." 
 
 In the ceilings both of upper and lower 
 apartments, it has a very characteristic ap- 
 pearance 
 
127 
 
 pearance to leave the spars and joists unco- 
 vered ; specimens of which may be seen in 
 many cottages of old date. In this state also 
 they are very useful ; nails, for the purpose 
 of hanging various articles, find an easy re- 
 ception, which might otherwise be injudi- 
 ciously applied to the detriment of the cieling 
 itself. The Spanish chesnut, by its durability 
 in such situations, is superior to any other 
 wood ; witness the roofs of many churches, 
 and other buildings. It acquires also by age 
 exactly that dark brown hue which is so 
 particularly desirable in cottage architecture, 
 and which fir, however good in quality, never 
 assumes. 
 
 In the humblest cot there are innumera- 
 ble little circumstances to which attention 
 may be directed ; and which, though trifling 
 in themselves, and almost equally so in regard 
 to expense, tend greatly to heighten the pic- 
 turesque appearance externally, as well as its 
 character and comforts internally. 
 
 A warm and comfortable cottage, under 
 every circumstance of seasons, is an object 
 calculated to produce the most pleasant sen- 
 sations. 
 
128 
 
 sations. In spring and summer, the surround- 
 ing verdure, the little garden decorated with 
 flowers and loaded with fruit?, to which add 
 cleanliness and cheerfulness, place it among 
 the most interesting of rural scenes. 
 
 In autumn, when the first frosts begin 
 to tinge the decaying foliage that surrounds 
 it with all its rich variety of colouring; when, 
 joined to the perfect stillness of a calm au- 
 tumnal day, the misty atmosphere spreads its 
 tender grey tint over the landscape ; — then 
 it is that the cottage enjoys its utmost har- 
 mony and repose, and wears its most pic- 
 turesque attire. 
 
 In winter, though less picturesque, it is 
 a no less pleasing object ; when the fast-falling 
 flakes have whitened its humble but impe- 
 netrable roof, and the snow-drifted peasant, 
 shaking his garments, seeks the warm shelter 
 of its cheerful hearth. 
 
 Domestic and other animals flocking: 
 round for shelter and for food, impart a degree 
 of character truly winter's own. 
 
 The 
 
129 
 
 ' f The cattle from th' untasted fields return, 
 And ask, with meaning low, their wonted stalls, 
 Or ruminate in the contiguous shade ; 
 Thither the household feathery people crowd, 
 The crested cock, with all his female train, 
 Pensive, and dripping ; while the cottage hind 
 Hangs o'er th' enlivening bjaze, and talcful there 
 Recounts his simple frolic : much he talks, 
 And much he laughs, nor recks the storm that blows 
 Without, and rattles on his humble roof." 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 The picturesque character of a cottage, 
 it has been before observed, is considerably 
 increased by ivy, or other creeping plants, 
 climbing about it ; but in the peasant's cot- 
 tage, beauty and emolument should go hand- 
 in-hand, and be kept constantly in view : 
 therefore, instead of the ivy or the honey- 
 suckle, let the apricot, the pear, the plumb, 
 or any other productive wall-fruit, be placed 
 as a substitute ; the north aspect alone, as un- 
 favourable to the ripening of fruit, may be 
 reserved for ivy, the situation of all others 
 most adapted to its nature. The vine is by 
 far the most beautiful of all the wall-fruit 
 trees, and, where it meets with a situation that 
 it likes, is by no means unproductive. 
 
 K The 
 
130 
 
 The generality of wall-fruit trees, when 
 well trained, are pleasing objects. In winter, 
 their slender branches make a beautiful ap- 
 pearance ; as the summer advances, they also 
 increase in beauty, alternately putting forth 
 leaves, blossoms, and fruit. The cherry-tree 
 in particular, when the smooth brown bark 
 of the spray* the deep green of its leaves, and 
 the glowing colour of its fruit are combined, 
 ranks among the most pleasing and profitable 
 of wall-fruit trees. 
 
 The peach and the nectarine, than which 
 nothing can be more beautiful, require more 
 management, and, bt ing always more uncer- 
 tain, are less advantageous. 
 
 Vines, ivy, or other creeping plants, 
 when suffered to run over the roofs of houses, 
 I do not myself think by any means orna- 
 mental. Plants of the deciduous kind, when 
 divested of their leaves, have a naked, un- 
 comfortable, and, indeed, a slovenly appear- 
 ance : evergreens, it is true, are not liable to 
 this objection ; but, suffered to grow over the 
 roofs of houses, they are liable to a worse* 
 
 that 
 
131 
 
 that of being prejudicial to the roof itself, 
 by keeping it in a state of continual mois- 
 ture. 
 
 In great profusion also, plants of this 
 kind are rather injurious in a picturesque 
 light ; giving to a house, or the tower of a 
 church, the appearance of a heavy uniform 
 bush. 
 
 The more elegant creeping plants suf- 
 fered to twine about the door or windows, 
 whose regularity they break with all their 
 native wildness, have an effect so nearly allied 
 in idea to the primitive simplicity of past ages, 
 an effect (if I maybe allowed the expression) 
 so classical, that it always excites our admi- 
 ration. 
 
 They may sometimes be allowed to 
 aspire even to the chimney, where their de- 
 licate tendrils flaunting in the breeze are seen 
 to advantage ; but if carried further than this 
 the very profusion destroys the effect, and 
 produces a heaviness that is disagreeable. 
 
 K 2 This 
 
132 
 
 This may not be an improper place for 
 taking notice of another part of the ceconomy 
 of the cottage ; which, though it is not of 
 equal consequence to the happiness of a fa- 
 mily with those before-mentioned, is not with- 
 out its uses, both in a profitable and moral 
 point of view, independent of the ornament 
 and apparent comfort that it bestows ; I mean 
 the garden : every thing that it produces is 
 found useful in a family ; and as an amuse- 
 ment, it holds a distinguished rank amongst 
 all the classes of mankind. It does not re- 
 quire that the mind should be highly culti- 
 vated, to enjoy the pleasures of gardening ; 
 the love of it is implanted in our minds with 
 its earliest impressions. It is among the first 
 of infantile amusements ; and almost every 
 one must have observed the high enjoyment 
 which it affords to individuals of the lowest 
 class. It is a pleasure equally enjoyed by 
 the females of a family ; who, generally, are 
 not only fond of gardening to excess, but 
 cultivate a small spot with equal care. In- 
 deed, some of the neatest that I have seen, 
 and those by no means unproductive, have 
 
 been 
 
13S 
 
 been cultivated by women far advanced in 
 life. 
 
 But, admitting the profits arising from a 
 small garden to be trivial, it has, perhaps, 
 other advantages that are not to be despised. 
 The time that is employed about it, is stolen 
 from those intervals of labour, which, for 
 want of such amusement, might be worse 
 occupied. Every one has, or ought to have, 
 his enjoyments ; it is the duty of every man 
 of fortune, as far as it is in his power, to en- 
 deavour to procure for his dependents enjoy- 
 ments of the most innocent kind ; and those 
 certainly answer the best end, where utility 
 and pleasure are combined. What with the 
 care of his garden, his land, and his cow, 
 every hour would be usefully, and of course 
 happily, employed. Nor is the anticipation 
 of the profits that are to be the reward of his 
 toil, among the least of his pleasures : he 
 naturally considers every thing that arises from 
 such sources, as so much independent of his 
 daily labour, and tending to procure for him- 
 self and family those little comforts which 
 
 are 
 
134 
 
 are so naturally desired, and so justly his 
 due. 
 
 Were these kinds of means more fre- 
 quently adopted, indigence would find its own 
 remedy ; and a man would not be forced to 
 the degrading necessity of applying to a parish 
 for that relief which his own industry would 
 and ought to be sufficient to procure. 
 
 Such means would also furnish the most 
 infallible remedy against the evil effects of 
 public-houses, the resort of the idle and the 
 vicious, and the natural consequence of the 
 want of employment. 
 
 Whatever has a tendency to divert the 
 attention from such scenes of idleness and 
 dissipation, is productive of a more extended 
 benefit than is perceived upon a transient 
 view. Idleness and dissipation can scarcely 
 fail of producing injury to the morals of their 
 votaries; a family, of course, suffers in all 
 respects, in proportion to the shock which 
 these have sustained in its superior. 
 
 I have 
 
135 
 
 I have been frequently led to pity, more 
 than to blame, the conduct of those whom 
 the world esteem dissolute and abandoned : 
 some are, no doubt, abandoned from princi- 
 ple ; but many more, I fear, are rendered so 
 by their misfortunes. Is it to be wondered at, 
 thai men whose hearts are chilled by the icy 
 gripe of poverty and distress ; whose houses, 
 or rather huts, exhibit nought but wretched- 
 ness ; in short, who are to expect no comfort 
 at their return from toil ; — is it to be wondered 
 at, that, deprived as it were of every thing 
 which should constitute happiness in their 
 own family, they seek with eagerness the 
 comfort of an alehouse fire, and any society 
 or amusement capable of producing a mo-* 
 mentary oblivion to their cares ? 
 
 Compared with this, how different must 
 be his sensations, who at his return is greeted 
 by his humble yet happy family ; whose 
 brows, crowned with content, are brightened 
 by the cheerful emanations of the evening 
 fire ; and upon whose homely board is spread 
 wholesome but frugal plenty ! 
 
 Ye 
 
136 
 
 " Ye masters, then, 
 
 Be mindful of the rough laborious hand, 
 
 That sinks you soft in elegance and ease ; 
 
 Be mindful of those limbs in russet clad, 
 
 AVhose toil to yours is warmth, and graceful pride ; 
 
 And oh ! be mindful of that sparing board, 
 
 Which covers yours with luxury profuse, 
 
 Makes your glass sparkle, and your sense rejoice." 
 
 Thomson 
 
 OF 
 
OF THE PLATES, 
 
 In the foregoing sheets I have made 
 objections, on various grounds, to many build- 
 ings in the cottage style which I have seen ; I 
 have also recommended certain forms of 
 lines and contour, as likely to produce a pro- 
 per play of light and shade, and thereby 
 obtain picturesque effects. It may therefore 
 reasonably be expected, that I should in some 
 degree realize my speculations and reason- 
 ings, by employing the pencil as well as the 
 pen, the more clearly to demonstrate my 
 ideas and opinions on this subject of rural 
 beauty. To gratify these expectations, and 
 to shew that I am not led away by a wild 
 and capricious fancy, I annex six sketches of 
 cottages, such as I think will produce effects 
 pleasing and picturesque. As I do not pro- 
 fess to understand the practical parts of the 
 builder's art, I have merely described a plan 
 suitable to each design, by which it will ap- 
 
 L pear^ 
 
138 OF THE PLATES. 
 
 pear, that the conveniences produced are suf- 
 ficient for the purposes of social, and even of 
 elegant retirement. 
 
 EXPLANATIONS, 
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 Sketch for an ornamented Cottage; pro- 
 perly speaking, but one story high, the 
 chambers being in the roof. The plan pro- 
 posed is a vestibule, with a parlour on each 
 side, and another room with a bow at the 
 end, which may be appropriated to a library, 
 or any other purpose. The accommoda- 
 tions of this cottage may be considerably en- 
 larged, by carrying the vestibule backward, 
 to serve as kitchen and offices, which, by 
 breaking the regularity of the back part of 
 the building, will add to its picturesque 
 
 effect. 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 In this Cottage, the plan may be similar 
 
 to the former ; but the elevation is totally 
 
 different: the bow-window in the left-hand 
 
 parlour is well adapted to receive coloured 
 
 glass. 
 
 PLATE 
 
OF THE PLATES. 139 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 - Design for an adorned Cottage, of a 
 more regular form ; from the centre part^ 
 which appears of the same size with the 
 parlours, a passage or entrance to them may 
 be taken off transversely, while the back part 
 may be employed as a kitchen ; and by car- 
 rying one of the wings backward, so as to 
 throw the plan of the house into the form of 
 an L, other conveniences, with an additional 
 chamber, would be obtained. 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 Is an idea for a Cottage, upon a plan 
 calculated either for the adorned cottage, or 
 to be divided into two tenements for labour- 
 ers. The thatched porch over the doors, is 
 supported by the rough trunks of trees, 
 round which different creeping plants may 
 be suffered to twine at pleasure. If it were 
 constructed on the larger plan as an adorned 
 cottage, the entrance on the right may lead 
 to the kitchen and offices, while that on the 
 left would form a proper one to the other 
 parts of the house. 
 
 PLATE 
 
J 40 OF THE PLATES. 
 
 PLATE V. 
 
 I propose the plan of this sketch to be 
 a square, containing a passage, which may 
 also contain the stair-case, to have four rooms 
 on the ground floor, with as many chamber? 
 over ; the viranda may either entirely sur- 
 round it, or be partially discontinued. 
 
 PLATE VL 
 
 This sketch is of more humble appear- 
 ance, and calculated to contain four rooms 
 upon the ground- floor, with chambers in the 
 roof. Clay formed into bats mixed with cut 
 straw, built upon a brick under-pinning, 
 would be a good method of construction. A 
 cottage of this form, with its garden, vines, 
 &c. is equally well placed by the side of the 
 village common, in the recesses of a wood, 
 or under the sheltering brow of some southern 
 hill. 
 
 THE END, 
 
 Printed by Cox, Son, and Baylis, N« 75, Great Queen Sireet, 
 Lincoln's-Inn- Fields. 
 

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 RURAL ARCHITECTURE, 
 
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