It will easily be understood that, where the conditions
are so various, it is impossible to lay down unvarying rules
for the building of a house, and I do not hesitate to confess
that the most I can do for my readers is to offer a tew germ
eral principles, and .some personal suggestions, assuring
them at the outset that it is upon their own intelligence
and experience that they must principally depend. There
are a few points, however, winch are unalterable, that is,
there are a few principles which apply to house-building ail
the world over, and it is of these that I would first speak,
and can confidently say that they will fully repay the care-
ful consideration of any one of you who may be about to
build a house. To begin with, however small a house may
be, the work on it should be well and thoroughly done ;
you should select good, well-seasoned material, get trust-
worthy workmen, deprive yourself, if necessary, of all orna-
mentation, but permit no shams, no imitations, and be sure
that from top to bottom your house is honestly built. The
ON HABITS AND MANNERS. I 1 5
very greatest fault in the ordinary architecture of the day is
its flirnsiness and want of honesty, and for this no amount of
stucco, or cheap carving, or sham ornament of any kind, can
atone. If you are limited as to the amount of money which
you can put into the house, (which I am taking for granted
to be the case), then your first care must be to see that you
get something real, and permanently valuable, in return for
your money. Be sure that your foundations are sound,
your walls substantial, your roof tight, your windows and
doors well-fitting, and that you begin with one thorough
coat of paint, outside and in ; after which, it you have any
money left, you can afford to take a little time to consider
what is the best use for it.
The point to be next considered, as affecting both com-
fort and utility, is the internal division and arrangement of
the house, and this demands some thought, for the arrange-
ment of the rooms of a house affords a very delicate and
valuable test of the amount of civilization and refinement
possessed by its inhabitants. In the dwellings of the very
poor and ignorant we find human beings, of all ages and
both sexes, crowded together in one room, forming a hot-bed
from which springs a frightful crop of indecency, immor-
ality and vice, and to no lower depth than this can human
beings sink, for it pre-supposes the absence of even the
instincts of modesty and decency. Now the first step on
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ON HABITS AND MANNERS.
Page 51
Presented as published in 1888. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
It will easily be understood that, where the conditions are so various, it is impossible to lay down unvarying rules for the building of a house, and I do not hesitate to confess that the most I can do for my readers is to offer a few general principles, and .some personal suggestions, assuring them at the outset that it is upon their own intelligence and experience that they must principally depend. There are a few points, however, which are unalterable, that is, there are a few principles which apply to house-building ail the world over, and it is of these that I would first speak, and can confidently say that they will fully repay the careful consideration of any one of you who may be about to build a house. To begin with, however small a house may be, the work on it should be well and thoroughly done ; you should select good, well-seasoned material, get trustworthy workmen, deprive yourself, if necessary, of all ornamentation, but permit no shams, no imitations, and be sure that from top to bottom your house is honestly built. The
very greatest fault in the ordinary architecture of the day is its flimsiness and want of honesty, and for this no amount of stucco, or cheap carving, or sham ornament of any kind, can atone. If you are limited as to the amount of money which you can put into the house, (which I am taking for granted to be the case), then your first care must be to see that you get something real, and permanently valuable, in return for your money. Be sure that your foundations are sound, your walls substantial, your roof tight, your windows and doors well-fitting, and that you begin with one thorough coat of paint, outside and in ; after which, it you have any money left, you can afford to take a little time to consider what is the best use for it.
The point to be next considered, as affecting both comfort and utility, is the internal division and arrangement of the house, and this demands some thought, for the arrangement of the rooms of a house affords a very delicate and valuable test of the amount of civilization and refinement possessed by its inhabitants. In the dwellings of the very poor and ignorant we find human beings, of all ages and both sexes, crowded together in one room, forming a hot-bed from which springs a frightful crop of indecency, immorality and vice, and to no lower depth than this can human beings sink, for it pre-supposes the absence of even the instincts of modesty and decency. Now the first step on
iiG