Let us compare such a scene with the ancient family mansion of two or three centuries ago, and which may, perhaps, have undergone repairs or additions, in different styles, during a long succession of generations. We shall often observe a combined mass of buildings, irregular in their outline, and, perhaps, even discordant in their style; but the confused mixture in a mansion, with its offices attached and detached, gives an imposing assemblage, while the church, and even the village, or, at least, some houses of dependants, add to that quantity and variety, without which there can be no real greatness or importance. It is a mistaken idea, that a place is increased in its grandeur by removing all its subordinate parts to a distance, or out of sight: on the contrary, many of our most venerable palaces are attached, at least on one side, to the neighbouring town; while views into gardens and park scenery are enjoyed from the principal apartments.
