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Again (to consider it in another view), when the sun breaks out ingleams there is something that delights and surprises, in seeing anobject, before only visible, lighted up in splendour, and then graduallysinking into shade: but a whitened object is already lighted up; itremains so when every thing has retired into obscurity; it still forcesitself into notice, still impudently stares you in the face.

“ An object of a sober tint, unexpectedly gilded by the sun, is like aserious countenance suddenly lighted up by a smile; a whitened object,like the eternal grin of a fool.*

“ I wish, however, to be understood, that when I speak of white-wash and whitened buildings, I mean that glaring white which isproduced by lime alone, or without a sufficient quantity of any loweringingredient; for there cannot be a greater or more reasonable im-provement than that of giving to a fiery brick building the tint of a stoneone. Such an improvement, however, should chiefly be confined tofiery brick; for when brick becomes weather-stained and mossy, itharmonises with other colours, and has often a richness, mellowness,and variety of tint, infinitely pleasing to a painter’s eye; for the coolcolour of the greenish moss lowers the fiery quality, while the subduedfire beneath gives a glow of a peculiar character, which the painterwould hardly like to change for any uniform colour, much less for theunmixed whiteness of lime.

“ Besides the glare, there is another circumstance which often

* “ Even very white teeth, (where excess of whiteness is least to be feared), if seen toomuch, often give a kind of silly look, that seems to belong to the part itself: nothing can bemore characteristic of that effect than Mr. Walpole’s well-known expression of ‘ the gentlemanwith the foolish teeth.’ Those gentlemen who deal much in pure whitewash, might well bedistinguished by the same compliment being paid to their buildings.”