certainly pleasant for brief periods, when lamps are low and fire light
gilds and deepens its parts. Turn the sunlight on these so-called
triumphs of the modern decorator's art, and then you feel the lack of
many a phase of color that might have been borrowed from the thousand
and one examples that in nature he vivifies and makes brilliant.

Referring again to the Ravenna mosaics, I can only add that at the
present day an extended palette of colored glass is available. The
technical difficulties are not great, and there is no question as to the
fine qualities of design and color that are to be obtained in this
material. The great point in this, as in all other schemes of
decoration, is the art, the mental quality of conception, and the sense
of color and fitness. If we hold the precious heritage of an artist's
mind--that divine and rare something which gives form, color, and
completeness to a story, a dream or a vision--then very little
difficulty follows in making vitreous mosaic a valued servant in the
realization of a fine creation.

It is the function of architects to design suitable spaces for color
decoration, so bound in by dignified mouldings and other details of his
constructive art, in such a manner that the addition of decorative color
shall in no way mar the scheme of his complete work, but shall (under
these well ordered distributions) have set on them the seal and crown of
color which is inseparable from a perfect piece of architecture. In such
spaces he may dream his dreams, tell his stories, and stamp on them for
centuries his subtilest and divinest thoughts. May I not urge that to
such spaces must be given the best that is in you? for once placed so
shall they remain unchanged through generations, time being powerless to
add any mellow garment of tone or softening quality whatever.