of English details; rather there is expressed a vitality
that has been brought out by earnest effort to reproduce the spirit
desired. Undoubtedly the lasting success of early American craftsmanship
has been due to the perfect treatment of proportions, as related one to
the other. That these are not imitations is proved by an occasional
clumsiness which would be impossible, if they were exact copies of their
more highly refined English prototypes.

The grasp of the builder's mind is vividly revealed in the construction
of these windows, for while blunders are often made, yet successes are
much more frequent. They are evolved from remembered motives that have
been unified and balanced, that they might accord with the exterior and
be knitted successfully into the interior trim. Some of these windows
still grace seventeenth century houses, and are found not only on old
southern plantations, but all through New England, more especially along
the sea coast. True products are they of Colonial craftsmanship, brought
into existence by skilled artisans, who have performed their work so
perfectly that today they are found unimpaired, striking a dominant note
in accord with the architectural feeling of the period.

There is no question but that windows such as these lend character to
any house, provided, of course, that they coincide with the period.
Doubtless the designing of modified Colonial houses is responsible, in
part, for the present-day revival of interest, not solely in windows of
the Colonial period, but also in that which immediately preceded and
followed it.

[Illustration: GROUP WINDOWS ON STAIRWAY]

The first ornamental windows were of the casement type, copied from
English cottage homes. Like those, they opened outward, and were
designed with small panes, either diamond or square shaped. As they were
in use long before glass was manufactured in this country, the Colonists
were forced to import them direct from England. Many were sent ready to
be inserted, with panes already leaded in place. Proof of this is
afforded by examples still in existence. These often show strange
patches or cutting. The arrangement of casements varies from single
windows to groups of two or three, and they were occasionally
supplemented by fixed transoms. Surely no phase of window architecture
stands out more conspicuously in the evolution of our early designs than
the casement with its tiny panes, ornamented with handwrought iron
strap