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The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke
page 4 of 46 (08%)
Dulwich-on-the-Sound
was a palace of the Italian Renaissance. But in town
he adhered to an architecture which had moral associations,
the Nineteenth-Century-Brownstone epoch. It was a symbol of
his social position, his religious doctrine, and even, in a way,
of his business creed.

"A man of fixed principles," he would say, "should express them
in
the looks of his house. New York changes its domestic
architecture
too rapidly. It is like divorce. It is not dignified. I don't
like it.
Extravagance and fickleness are advertised in most of these new
houses.
I wish to be known for different qualities. Dignity and prudence
are
the things that people trust. Every one knows that I can afford
to
live in the house that suits me. It is a guarantee to the
public.
It inspires confidence. It helps my influence. There is a text
in
the Bible about 'a house that hath foundations.' That is the
proper kind of
a mansion for a solid man."

Harold Weightman had often listened to his father discoursing in
this fashion on the fundamental principles of life, and always
with
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