Having entered the house, and been shown into the drawing-room, the greatest impression made on the stranger ought to be by the view which he sees from its windows. This should be the most striking and the most beautiful view or prospect which the place affords, In order to be striking, it ought, if possible, to be considerably different from any views obtained between the lodge and the entrance front. The beauty which it exhibits may be of different kinds: it may be grand from the extent of prospect; bold and abrupt from the strong contrast and irregularity of its outlines; or it may be simply beautiful as a home view, from the undulations of its surface, the smoothness of its green turf, and the luxuriance of its trees, shrubs, and flowers. One of the most common modes of producing a striking view from the drawing-room windows of a house in a flat country is, by having the living-room floor of the house on a level of 10 or 12 feet above the natural surface of the ground; and by ascending to this level on the entrance front, not rapidly by a ramp or by steps, but gradually and insensibly by artificially raising the general surface, so as to give the house, on the entrance front, the appearance of standing on a natural knoll; and to prevent the stranger from suspecting that the ground on the lawn front is not on the same level as that on the entrance front.

When he reaches the drawing-room, therefore, and looks down on the lawn, the effect of the scenery is greatly heightened by the commanding situation in which he finds himself so unexpectedly placed.