New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-08-24
BOSTON.
LITERARY NOTES.

wopv-rur BEAUTY OF TRUTH AND ADAPTA-
rov MODERN CHRISTIANITY CIVILIZED
urATHENIsM"-Is CHRISTIANITY PHILOSOPHY,
on i. REVELATION FROM GOD i-wHERE SHALL
WE FIND OUR CHRlsTIANsi
IyRoM A REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUSE'I
Boston, Aug. 22.-J. K. Osgood a. Go. are
about to publish Homes, and How to make Inem' W
E. q. Gardiner, and have looked over the prooiS"ees
with that sort Of interest In house building whcn one
who In all probability never might, could wouio' vi
nhould build a house would be expected W iee" 4
wanted to see what could do, II ever my snip CAME ~.
and have found out. This little book Is oo"io' VI
letters between the architect ana MS Hio"u
friends ask all manner OF questions ano 'ne
rep,ies embodying in his letters numerous Minus anu
os,,o,s "a 70 the building Of houses. HIS aim
"a 20 Give practical instruction to those "oou'
IN build and especially to strengthen 'n'
growing demand for truer and pet'er WIN
II solemn thing says Mr. Gardiner, 10 pud even 'ho
outside of house. You not only influence your ieo"
men, but you reveal your own character, TOT houses
have facial expression as marked as tha' Vi nun"
bencs often strangely like their owners ana IN most
cases far more lasting You trace the character Oh
nations IN their houses in the portable tents OF ING
Arabs the homely soidity Of the houses OF 1ernany
and Holland the cheerful widespreading hospitality
of syitzerand; the superficial elegance ana extraVa
gance of France the thoroughness and seasseron Vi
the English and the heterogeneous oongiomeraons
OF America, made up OF importauons HUN o'e'' '""N
and nation under the sun.
Said a pssser-by concerning ugly house, Inc man
who built that should have had very goou eAouse Aoi
H." and 1t seems to that large proportion Oh our
houses need extremely good excuse but WIN '0
thought little practical wisdom, IL wouid DC easy
enough TO change all that, and make every house-how
ever small or cheap humble-secure, refined agree
able TO the eye aud full of conveniences This is the les
son which, all through Mr. Gardiner tries to teach In
the first place. be reminds US that the beauty OF our
building cannot be thrust upon it, but must be
born with it-an inseparable part OF IT, we must
first aim to make our houses strong and DURABLE
comfortable and convenient; aud we can be fmoraly
certain they will not then be disagreeabe to look
upon Buildings that put airs are almost as ridiculous
ms men aud women who do the same thing Ihere
should no more be architectural fashon thah d
fashion in eyes and noses; to do something because
your DeghbOr has done it is almost necessarily iatai
shams are worst of all Let wood stand for WOOD brick
BRICK and do not expect people TO aeeredt painted
sheetron with brown-stone value. Perhaps the most
important thing in building absolute honesty in
regard to materials.
IL YOU would build house pleasant to look upon, You
must first consider carefully your SITE Then to TINS
you carefully adapt your plan The house that
would look well upon hill might look very III upon
plain One style of architecture is suited for one land
scape another for another. Then your materials must
accord with both your site and the style OF your build
ing For designs stone, for others DlcK ana LOT
Others wood Mr. Gardiner talks eloquenty in favor
of the common unhewn stones, such as we Law our
country stone walls with, that we become convinced
they are the one proper thing with which
TO build country house. Then he turns his attention
brick aud sets forth its advantages SO eloquenty
that we house ought to be OF brick, aud
lastly he praises the Heterogeneous and avalabty
of wood that You say like the pretty milkmaid wood
becomes my complexion best and wood 1t shall be-"
But after thorough discussion of the three the architects
Of fba
stone quarries but the stone you pick up in
our New England heds-the small, loose stones that
abound in many localities or course the main corners,
the door and window jambs the caps and stills should
be made OF something ese and here you can be as ex-
favagant you please But IL you want to be at once
economical and picturesque good brick Will serve your
for corners, and jambs, ana some good flag
stones broken into strips OF suitable width and thick
ness for the sills and belt-courses. Mr. Donald G.
Mitchell has written OF these stone walled houses with
enthusiasm and has proved his faith in them by build
ing his house at EdgewOod in that manner There
are successful examples Of this sort OF stone
building at Newport.
Having chosen your material you must choose your
form and by all means let it be low and rambling for
country houses Nothing 0fends the eye in country
landscape as high and narrow house. AS civilization
advances Mr. Gardiner thinks this style will be laid
aside, even in cities; and that people will live above
and beneath each other instead of beside each other
But when your house stands apart from its neghbors
there is no excuse tower of Babel You can have
wide DOORS windows and rooms that open out
Of each other, and tempt you with thousand con-
yeneuces How shall you finish off these generous
the nsdel With implanted wood. TO be sure but 1t
need not OF necessity. be hard wood; only IL it's pine,
let it be pine. DON'T with feeble trick of grain
Ing force the pine door TO say every one who comes
ill., 81 am black walnut" or 81 am oak" One thing
you may il you like, and that IS. you may stain the
less costly kinds of woods using transparent stain
that will not conceal the natural shading
and at the same deepen its tint according to your
fancy For the pasered walls paint is better than pa
per- and you ornament as much as yon please.
Mr. Gardiner contrives TO give wholesome horror OF
carpets He would have them scarcely than
rugs; have handsome finish OF wood all around the
ROOM and carpet only in the CENTER where can be
moved easily that it will be sure TO be moved often
Our model house must be warmed too We want as
much room in Winter as in Summer, and that implies
that all the rooms must be made comfortable.
Howl is the conundrum. 1t seems to me
that our author sets up all the different the
ofies and knocks them down as II they were nine
pins. We must be warm, aud so we must smut
our heat in and yet must breathe pure air or die.
and that implies communication with out OF doors Fire
placesbut they consume too much wood and to build
fires 10 every room requires undue expenditure Of
time stovesbut they make the air close and give you
headache Furnaces-but where is one that will never
leak poisonous CAST Steam-3ut the arrangements
extensive and two expensive for one small house
think you conclude the end that steam is BEST and
n furnace practicable; but you will have to wait
till the millennium TO get 1t just right.
The book contains valuable hints about kitchens,
about halls and stairs abont the whole science OF home
making In short. is always clear in Its direc
might be wished by the untechDical mind but
Mt least you have the great thinking that
the man who wrote II knows what he meant and II you
write to Springfield and ask him he will tell you.
book both strong and striking is "Modern Chris
tianty Civilized Heathensm," by the author Of The
Fight Dame E1ropa's School," which Wm. F. Gill d
Co are about TO publish II is book intended to make