The life of William Morris . ts coolness amidstthe green reflections of the garden. u The tapestry room is over the big panelled walls of it are hung with tapestry of about 1600,representing the story of Samson ; they were never greatworks of art, and now when all the bright colours arefaded out, and nothing is left but the indigo blues, thegreys and the warm yellowy browns, they look better, Ithink, than they were meant to look: at any rate theymake the walls a very pleasant background for the livingpeople who haunt the room ; and, in spite of the designer,they give an air of roma
The life of William Morris . ts coolness amidstthe green reflections of the garden. u The tapestry room is over the big panelled walls of it are hung with tapestry of about 1600,representing the story of Samson ; they were never greatworks of art, and now when all the bright colours arefaded out, and nothing is left but the indigo blues, thegreys and the warm yellowy browns, they look better, Ithink, than they were meant to look: at any rate theymake the walls a very pleasant background for the livingpeople who haunt the room ; and, in spite of the designer,they give an air of romance to the room which nothingelse would quite do. Another charm this room has, that through its southwindow you not only catch a glimpse of the Thamesclover meadows and the pretty little elm-crowned hillover in Berkshire, but if you sit in the proper place, youcan see not only the barn aforesaid with its beautifulsharp gable, the grey stone sheds, and the dove-cot, butalso the flank of the earlier house and its little gables. THE MANOR HOUSE, KELMSCOTT, FROM THE ORCHARD. jet, 38] WILLIAM MORRIS 231 and grey scaled roofs, and this is a beautiful outlookindeed. A house that I love ; with a reasonable love I think:for though my words may give you no idea of any specialcharm about it, yet I assure you that the charm is there;so much has the old house grown up out of the soil andthe lives of those that lived on it: some thin thread oftradition, a half-anxious sense of the delight of meadowand acre and wood and river; a certain amount (not toomuch let us hope) of common sense, a liking for makingmaterials serve ones turn, and perhaps at bottom somelittle grain of sentiment:—this I think was what went tothe making of the old house. To this account of Kelmscott may be added a fewobservations made by Mr. Webb from his further know-ledge as a professional architect: From my earliest recollections this general kind ofhouse was familiar to me, where the coarse oolite stoneof Thames valle
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidlifewilliamm, bookyear1907
