They are waiting for you in the sunlight of
this summer evening; the gables are leaning, the waters are sparkling,
the shadows are deepening on the hills, and the colours on the banners
that trail in the water, are 'red, white, and blue!'
* * * * *
A Word or two here may not be out of place, on some of the modern
architectural features of Normandy. In some towns that we have passed
through it would seem as if the old feeling for form and colour had at
last revived, and that (although perhaps in rather a commonplace way)
the builders of modern villas and seaside houses were emulating the
works of their ancestors.
Prom our windows at Houlgate (on the sea-coast, near Trouville) we can
see modern, half-timbered houses, set in a garden of shrubs and flowers,
with gables prettily 'fringed,' graceful dormer windows, turrets and
overhanging eaves; solid oak doors, and windows with carved balconies
twined about with creepers, with lawns and shady walks surrounding--as
different from the ordinary type of French country-house with its
straight avenues and trimly cut trees, as they are remote in design from
any ordinary English seaside residence; and (this is our point) they are
not only ornamental and pleasing to the eye, but they are durable, dry,
and healthy dwellings, and are _not costly to build_.
Here are sketches of four common examples of modern work, all of which
are within a few yards of our own doors.
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