Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/566

 456 The Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal. [Jan., purpose for the object in view, that is, a comfortable and convenient walk. All the beauty it received from variety, in its curves and windings, the objects it passed, and the views to which it led, are still retained, and, in addition, it is now invested with the beauty of utility But if art has so far interfered, as to change the course of the path making a perfectly straight line from one extreme point to the other, removing, where ne- cessary, the natural vegetation, smooth- ing down the. prominences, and filling up hollows, then we divest it of every ves- tige of the natural, and, with it, all the pleasing emotions produced when con- templating its former outlines. It is now purely artificial. There is no har- mony existing between it and its sur- roundings. If it has any beauty, it is exclusively that of utility and must be judged by the importance of the neces sity that produced it.' This may be illustrated by the straight line and level surface of a railway. We know that its importance, success, and value, demand this prepa- ration and finish, and whatever of beauty we may accord to it, will be influenced by its apparent fitness for its purpose, and probably a railroad engineer, of strong utilitarian views, would pro- nounce it the most beautiful form of all. In addition to the change made on the appearance of the walk, suppose we remove the native growth embraced in its scenery, and supply its place with a collection of trees and shrubs that are foreign, either to the locality, or to the country. The outlines and general effect of this new plantation, may cor- respond very closely to that removed, it being bordered on the margin with low- growing suitable shrubs, neat in appear- ance, and ornamented with flowers. As a feature in the scenery, this will appear as natural as the original ; but a closer investigation will discover an additional interest, in the greater variety of indi- viduals composing the group ; and it is invested with this additional charm, without detracting in any degree from its other qualities. A classified variety of this style has been very generally treated upon, by landscape-gardening authors, under the name of the Picturesque. This is the accidental beauty of a scene, or that resulting from the association of ideas, and is of a decidedly distinctive charac- ter relatively to other elements of beauty It would be vain to attempt to classify, or enumerate picturesque objects, because the beauty resulting from their contemplation, is not so much conveyed by the organic sense of vision, as b}- the intellect and imagina- tion through that sense. To a richly stored mind, almost every object in nature, that presents itself to the senses, may awaken long dormant ideas, or recall pleasing reminiscences ; and as the materials for association are increased, so will the sphere of these emotions be enlarged. On this subject, Alison, in his essays on the nature and principles of taste, has the following remarks : " Such associations, instead of being common to all mankind, are peculiar to the individual. They take their rise from education, from peculiar habits of thought, from situation, from profession; and the beauty they produce is felt only by those, whom similar causes have led to the formation of similar associations. There are few persons who have not associations of this kind, with particular scenes, from their being familiar to them from their infancy, and thus connected with the gay and pleasing imagery of that period of life ; from their connec- tion with scenes to which they look back with pleasure, or people whose memories they love ; and such scenes, from this accidental connection, are never seen, without being in some measure the signs of all those affecting and endearing recollections." Picturesque beauty is a beauty of suggestion resulting - from association of