We have no objection to individuals indulging in this taste, or in any other that gratifies them; but we cannot approve of it as calculated to form what, by such persons as have seen all the fine places in England and Europe, would be called a fine place. The general practice in the most beautiful residences in England is, to maintain a character in the scenery of the entrance front, distinct from that of what is called the lawn, drawing-room, or garden front; and we think there is reason in favour of the practice. The drawing-room of every house may be considered as the place where is to be made the greatest display of whatever can render a dwelling desirable; the drawing-room, therefore, should not only be comfortable, and elegant within, but the scenery seen from the windows should harmonise with the general character of luxury and refined enjoyment. To effect this, recourse must be had to ornamental gardening in the foreground, and landscape-gardening in the distance. Ornamental gardening supplies groups of flowers and flowering shrubs, with basket-work, vases, statues, and other ornamental objects; and landscape-gardening guides the taste in the concealment or display of distant groups or masses of trees, water, lawn, rocks, hills, and other materials, natural or artificial, of verdant scenery. The entrance front, on the other hand, is generally arranged in a plainer style, and this also has reason in its favour: first, because it is a place liable to be frequently occupied by horses and carriages, and therefore less suitable for flowers, or the recreation of those for whom flowers are more especially cultivated; secondly, because it seldom happens that the drawing-room windows, and others of the principal company apartments, look towards the entrance front; and thirdly, because the plainer the entrance front is, the better it will contrast with the drawing-room front.
