,illustration3 ,on ,a ,side ,hill ,,homes1 ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,make ,,them4 ,e4,c4 ,,gardner4 ,illustrated4 ,,boston3 ,,james ,r4 ,,osgood ,,and ,,company1 ,,late ,,ticknor ,,fields1 ,,and ,,fields1 ,,osgood1 ,,co4 #ahge4 ,entered according to ,act of ,congress1 in the year #ahgd1 ,,by ,,james ,r4 ,,osgood ,,co41 in the ,office of the ,librarian of ,congress1 at ,washington4 ,,university ,,press3 ,,welch1 ,,bigelow1 ,co41 ,,cambridge4 ,,preface4 ,these letters between the architect and his friends are composed of hints and suggestions relating to the building of homes4 ,their aim is to give practical information to those about to build1 and to strengthen the growing demand for better and truer work4 ,even those who are not yet ready to build for themselves are seldom without an instinctive longing to do so at some future time1 and a lively concern in the present achievements of their friends and neighbors1 in this direction4 ,such will1 ,i trust1 find something interesting and instructive in these pages1 and be moved thereby to a more cordial hatred of whatever is false and useless1 and love for the simple and true4 ,e4,c4,g4 ,,springfield1 ,march1 #ahgd4 ,,contents4 ,,letter ,i4 ,,every ,,man ,,should ,,have ,a ,,home ,,ii4 ,a ,,grateful ,,client ,,iii4 ,,the ,,beauty ,,of ,,truth ,,and ,,utility ,,iv4 ,,professional ,,folly ,v4 ,,building-,,sites ,,and ,,foundation-,,walls ,,vi4 ,,gravel-,,banks ,,and ,,quagmires ,,vii4 ,,nature',s ,,bricks ,,are ,,better ,,than ,,ours ,,viii4 ,,there ,,is ,a ,,soft ,,side ,,even ,,to ,a ,,stone ,,wall ,,ix4 ,a ,,broad ,,house ,,is ,,better ,,than ,a ,,high ,,one ,x4 ,,trout ,,brooks ,,are ,,better ,,than ,,street ,,sewers ,,xi4 ,,the ,,strength ,,and ,,durability ,,of ,,brick ,,xii4 ,,the ,,weakness ,,and ,,sham ,,of ,,brickwork ,,xiii4 ,,skill ,,dignifies ,,the ,,most ,,humble ,,material ,,xiv4 ,,every ,,man ,,to ,,his ,,trade ,,xv4 ,,the ,,coming ,,house ,,will ,,be ,,fair ,,to ,,see ,,and ,,made ,,of ,,brick ,,xvi4 ,,domestic ,,discipline ,,xvii4 ,,good ,,taste ,,is ,,not ,a ,,foe ,,but ,a ,,friend ,,to ,,economy ,,xviii4 ,,our ,,picturesque ,,ancestors ,,xix4 ,,the ,,use ,,and ,,the ,,abuse ,,of ,,wood ,,xx4 ,a ,,surrender ,,and ,,change ,,of ,,base ,,xxi4 ,,hospitality ,,and ,,sunlight ,,xxii4 ,,unprofessional ,,sagacity ,,xxiii4 ,,stairways ,,and ,,outlooks ,,xxiv4 ,,in ,a ,,multitude ,,of ,,counsellors ,,is ,,safety ,,xxv4 ,,doors ,,and ,,sliding-,,doors1 ,,windows ,,and ,,bay-,,windows ,,xxvi4 ,,experience ,,keeps ,a ,,dear ,,school ,,xxvii4 ,,fashion ,,and ,,ornament1 ,,hard ,,wood ,,and ,,paint ,,xxviii4 ,,thought ,,provokes ,,inquiry ,,xxix4 ,,consistency1 ,,comfort1 ,,and ,,carpets ,,xxx4 ,,autobiography ,,and ,,architecture1 ,,potatoes ,,and ,,postscripts ,,xxxi4 ,,domestic-,,service ,,reform ,,xxxii4 ,,go ,,to2 ,,let ,,us ,,build ,a ,,tower ,,xxxiii4 ,,basements ,,and ,,balconies ,,xxxiv4 ,,four ,,rooms ,,enough ,,xxxv4 ,,conveniences ,,and ,,conjectures ,,xxxvi4 ,,the ,,lesson ,,of ,,the ,,ice-,,house ,,xxxvii4 ,,shingles1 ,,sunshine1 ,,and ,,fresh ,,air ,,xxxviii4 ,,where ,,the ,,doctors ,,differ ,,xxxix4 ,,how ,,to ,,do ,,it ,,xl4 ,,the ,,breath ,,of ,,life ,,xli4 ,,eternal ,,vigilance ,,lii4 ,,saved ,,by ,,conscience ,,xliii4 ,,final ,,and ,,personal ,,by ,,way ,,of ,,appendix ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations4 ,,mr4 ,,architect ,,mr4 ,,and ,,mrs4 ,,john ,,rough ,,strength ,,and ,,smooth-,,faced ,,weakness ,,on ,a ,,sidehill ,,only ,,one ,,corner ,,stone ,,body ,,with ,,brick ,,members ,,breadth ,,and ,,height ,,second ,,story ,,of ,,wood ,,cottage ,,cornices ,,square ,,heads ,,with ,,brick ,,caps ,,fragments ,,of ,,brickwork ,,bricks ,,that ,,are ,,not ,,square ,,picturesque ,,america ,a ,,wise ,,general ,,the ,,groves ,,were ,,god',s ,,first ,,temples ,,outer ,,finish ,,of ,,wood ,,the ,,old ,,house ,,at ,,home ,,forty-,,two ,,feet ,,square ,,look ,,out1 ,,not ,,in ,,dust ,,to ,,dust ,,wool ,,and ,,wood ,,woodwork ,,on ,,plastered ,,walls ,,sister ,,jane1 ,,spinster ,,sister ,,jane',s ,,kitchen ,,what ,,the ,,basement ,,adds ,,outlook ,,from ,,the ,,roof ,,the ,,old1 ,,old ,,story ,,shingling ,,good ,,old ,,times ,,brick ,,fireplace ,,homes1 ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,make ,,them1 ,,or ,,hints ,,on ,,locating ,,and ,,building ,a ,,house4 ,,in ,,letters ,,between ,,an ,,architect ,,and ,a ,,family ,,man ,,seeking ,a ,,home4 ,illustration3 ,only ,one ,corner ,,letter ,i4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,every ,,man ,,should ,,have ,a ,,home4 ,my ,dear ,john3 ,illustration3 ,mr4 ,architect ,now that your ship is at last approaching the harbor1 ,i am confident your first demonstration in honor of its arrival will be building yourself a house2 exchanging your charmingly good-for-nothing air-castle for an actual flesh-and-blood1 matter-of-fact dwelling-house1 two-storied and ,french-roofed it may be1 with all the modern improvements4 ,in many respects1 you will find the real house far less satisfactory and more perplexing than the creation of your fancy4 ,air-castles have some splendid qualities4 ,there are no masons' and carpenters' contracts to be made1 no plumbers' bills to be vexed over1 the furnaces never smoke1 and the water-pipes never freeze2 they need no insurance1 and you have no vain regrets over mistakes in your plans1 for you may have alterations and additions whenever you please without making a small pandemonium and eating dust and ashes while they are in process4 ,nevertheless1 ,i have no doubt you will plunge at once into the mysteries and miseries of building1 and1 knowing your inexperience1 ,i cannot at such a juncture leave you wholly to your own devices4 ,it is a solemn thing to build even the outside of a house4 ,you not only influence your fellow-men1 but reveal your own character2 for houses have a facial expression as marked as that of human beings1 often strangely like their owners1 and1 in most cases1 far more lasting4 ,some destroy your faith in human nature1 and give you an ague chill when you pass them2 others look impudently defiant1 while many make you cry out1 ,vanity of vanities6 ,if you are disposed to investigate the matter1 you will find that the history of nations may be clearly traced in the visible moral expression of the homes of the people2--in the portable home-tents of the ,arabs2 the homely solidity of the houses in ,germany and ,holland2 the cheerful1 wide-spreading hospitality of ,switzerland2 the superficial elegance and extravagance of ,france2 the thoroughness and self-assertion of the ,english2 and in the heterogeneous conglomerations of ,america1 made up of importations from every land and nation under the sun1--a constant striving and changing1--a mass of problems yet unsolved4 ,a friend once said to me while we were passing an incurably ugly house1 ,the man who built that must have had a very good excuse for it6 ,it was a profound remark1 but if that particular building were the only one needing apology for its ugliness1 or if there were no common faults of construction and interior arrangement1 ,i should not think you in special need of warning or counsel from me4 ,there are1 however1 so many ill-looking and badly contrived houses1 so few really tasteful ones1 while year after year it costs more and more to provide the comfortable and convenient home which every man wants and needs for himself and family1 that ,i am sure you will be grateful for any help ,i may be able to give you4 ,we are told that all men1 women1 and children ought to be healthy1 handsome1 and happy4 ,i have strong convictions that every man should also have a home1 healthful1 happy1 and beautiful2 that it is a right1 a duty1 and therefore a possibility4 ,small and humble it may be1 cheap as to cost1 but secure1 refined1 full of conveniences1 and the dearest spot on earth1 a home of his own4 ,in the hope of making the way to this joyful consummation easier and plainer for you1 ,i propose to give you a variety of hints1 information1 and illustrations relating to your undertaking1 and will try to make my practical suggestions so well worth your attention that you shall not overlook what ,i may say upon general principles4 ,there is a right and a wrong way of doing almost everything4 ,i am yours1 for the right way4 ,,letter ,,ii4 ,from ,john4 ,a ,,grateful ,,client4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,how did you know my ship was coming in8 ,queer1 isn't it1 that when a man does get a few stamps1 his friends all find it out1 and can tell him just what he ought to do with them4 ,but you're right4 ,i've lived in an air-castle long enough4 ,it's altogether too airy for cold weather1 and a house of my own ,i'm bound to have4 ,your information and advice will be exactly in order2 for it is a fact1 that1 until a man has built at least one house for himself1 he is as ignorant as the babe unborn1 not only of how to do it1 but1 what is ten times worse1 ignorant of what he wants to do4 ,so go ahead by all means2 make a missionary of yourself for my benefit4 ,don't get on your high heels too soon1 and undertake to tell me what won't be of the slightest use unless ,i have a fortune to expend4 ,illustration3 ,,mr4 ,,and ,,mrs4 ,,john4 ,give me something commonplace and practical1 something that ,i can apply to a villa of two rooms if my ship happens to be empty4 ,i suppose it's all true that an ugly-looking house is a sign of want of wit rather than want of money1 but there are lots of people who haven't either1 precious few that have both4 ,at all events1 the man who has only one thousand dollars to spend is just as anxious to spend it to the best advantage as he who has five thousand or fifty4 ,mrs4 ,john is delighted4 ,she is bent on the new house1 but knows ,i shall get everything wrong end first from cellar to attic4 ,i always supposed a good kitchen was a desirable part of a family establishment1 but the chief end of her plans is bay-windows and folding doors4 ,however1 if you tell us to put the front door at the back side of the house1 or do any other absurd thing1 it will be all right4 ,as to your preachment on general principles1 ,i'll do the best ,i can with it2 but don't give me too much at once4 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,iii4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,the ,,beauty ,,of ,,truth ,,and ,,utility4 ,dear ,john3 ,i am glad my efforts in your behalf are likely to be appreciated1 especially if you share this common opinion of architects1 that their mission is accomplished when they have made a pretty picture1 and that they are an expensive luxury1 which the man who would build himself a house must forego if he would be able to finish4 ,greater durability1 comfort1 and convenience are not expected on account of their assistance1 only that the house shall be more surprisingly beautiful4 ,doubtless there is some ground for this poor opinion1 but the architects are not alone in their folly1 or wholly responsible2 they attempt to supply an unreasonable demand1 and are driven to employ unworthy means4 ,the first grand lesson for you to learn 7you must have patience with a little more preachment7 is that the beauty of your building cannot be thrust upon it1 but must be born with it1 must be an inseparable part of it1 the result and evidence of its real worth4 ,we must forget our great anxiety as to how our houses shall be clothed1 aiming first to make them strong and durable1 comfortable and convenient1 being morally certain that they will not then be disagreeable to look upon4 ,professing a great contempt for a man who tries to seem something better and wiser than he is1 let us be equally severe in condemning every building that puts on airs and boldly bids us admire what is only fit to be despised4 ,the pendulum seems to have swung away from the plain1 utilitarian mode of building that was forced upon our ancestors by a stern necessity1--possibly chosen from a sense of duty1--to the other extreme2 giving us1 instead of the old-time simplicity1 many a fantastic design that claims admiration for its originality or its modern style4 ,the notion that there can be a mere architectural fashion1 having any rights that intelligent people are bound to respect1 is quite absurd4 ,improved modes of construction and new helps to comfort and convenience are constantly invented1 but one might as well talk of the latest fashions for the lilies of the fields or the stars in the heavens1 as of a fashionable style in architecture or any other enduring work of art4 ,whatever building is nobly and enduringly useful1 thoroughly adapted to its uses1 cannot be uncomely4 ,its outward beauty may be increased by well-contrived disposition of materials1 or even added details not strictly essential to its structure2 but1 if rightly built1 it will not be ugly without these additions1 and beware of using them carelessly4 ,what might have been a very gem of homely and picturesque grace1 if left in modest plainness1 may be so overburdened with worthless trash that its original expression is lost and its simple beauty becomes obtrusive deformity4 ,even conspicuous cheapness is not necessarily unpleasant to see1 but don't try to conceal it by forcing the materials to seem something better than they are4 ,let wood stand for wood1 brick for brick1 and never ask us to imagine a brown-stone value to painted sheet-iron4 ,there is1 too1 a deeper honesty than mere truth-telling in material2 a conscientiousness of purpose1 an artistic spiritual sense of the eternal fitness1 without which there can be no worthy achievement1 no lasting beauty4 ,accepting this doctrine1 which cannot be too often or too strongly urged1 although it is not new1--indeed1 it is old as the universe1--you will1 ,i think1 be puzzled to find an excuse for yourself if you disfigure a charming landscape or a village street by an uncouth building4 ,build plainly if you will1 cheaply if you must1 but1 by all that is fair to look upon or pleasant to the thought1 be honest4 ,it will require some study and much courage1 but verily you will have your reward1 and ,i for one shall be proud to write myself your admiring friend4 ,,letter ,,iv4 ,from ,john4 ,,professional ,,folly4 ,my ,dear ,architect3 ,i've been trying to learn my first grand lesson1 as laid down in your second epistle to yours truly4 ,about all ,i can make of it is3 ,firstly1 that my house is for myself to live in1--wife and babies included1--not for my neighbors to look at2 and1 secondly1 that however much ,i may try to humbug my fellow-sinners in other ways1 ,i'm not to build a lie into my house1 where it is sure to be found out1 after ,i'm dead and gone1 if not before4 ,you wonder what my opinion is of architects4 ,well1 without being personal1 ,i'm free to maintain that as a rule ,i'm afraid of 'em4 ,the truth is1 they don't care what a fellow's house costs him1 whatever they may say in the beginning2 and ,i never knew a man to build from an architect's plans that his bills didn't come in just about double what he laid out for4 ,they want to get up a grand display1 if it's a possible thing1 so everybody that comes along will stop and say1 ,what a charming house6 ,who made the plans8 while from beginning to end it may be all for show and nothing for use1 and mortgaged to the very chimney-tops4 ,that's my opinion1 and ,i'm not alone in it1 either4 ,there was my neighbor down the road1--he wanted a commonish kind of a house4 ,nothing would do but his wife must have it planned by a professional man4 ,result was1 she had to put her best bedstead square in the middle of the room1 and there was no possible place for the sitting-room lounge but to stand it on end behind a door in the corner4 ,another acquaintance of mine had #e1jjj4 ,didn't want to spend a cent more than that4 ,called on an architect1--may have been you1 for all ,i know2 architect made sketches1 added here a little and there a good deal1 made one or two rooms a few feet bigger1 poked the roof up several feet higher1 and piled the agony on to the outside1 until1 when the thing was done1 it cost him #aa1jjj6 ,of course it ran him into debt1 and most likely will be sold at auction4 ,he'll never get what it cost him1 unless he can sell it as we boys used to swap wallets1--without looking at the inside4 ,but everybody says it's lovely1 and wants to know who was his architect4 ,that1 ,i expect1 is just where the shoe pinches4 ,if an architect can only make a fine show with another man's money1 he gets a reputation in no time2 but if he has a little conscience1 and tries to plan a house that can be built for a given sum1 every one says it looks cheap1 no kind of taste1 and very likely the owner himself is grouty about it1 and next time goes for another man4 ,i don't envy you a bit4 ,but don't be discouraged4 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,v4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,building-,,sites ,,and ,,foundation-,,walls4 ,,dear ,,john3 ,you seem to have made as much of my last letter as could reasonably be expected4 ,i might reply to your unfortunate experience with architects1 by describing the cost and annoyance of the subsequent alterations1 almost inevitable whenever a house is built without carefully studied plans2 and ,i do assure you that when the cost of a house exceeds the owner's estimates1 it is simply because he does not know his own mind beforehand1 or stupidly fails to have his plans and contracts completed before he begins to build4 ,it's no more the fault of the architect than of the man in the moon4 ,by and by you shall have a chapter on the whole duty of architects1 as ,i understand it1 but not until ,i have given you something more practical to think of and possibly to work upon4 ,nothing astonishes me more than the absurdly chosen sites of many rural and suburban dwellings1 unless it is the dwellings themselves4 ,notwithstanding our great resources in this respect1 all considerations1 not only of good taste and landscape effect1 but even of comfort and convenience1 are often wholly ignored4 ,for the most trivial reasons1 houses are erected in such locations and of such shapes as to be forever in discord with their surroundings1--a perpetual annoyance to beholders and discomfort to their occupants4 ,i will not at present pursue the subject1 but shall assume that the ground whereon your house will stand is at least firm and dry2 if it isn't1 no matter how soon it falls1 it won't be fit to live in4 ,any preparation for the foundation in the way of puddling or under-draining will then be quite superfluous4 ,unless you are obliged to economize to the uttermost1 let your cellar extend under the whole house1 and make it of good depth1 not less than #g-a_/b feet1--#h-a_/b is better4 ,when this is ready1 ,i suppose you will start for the nearest ledge1 and bring the largest rocks that can be loosened by powder or dragged by oxen1 and set them in solemn array around the cellar1 their most smiling faces turned inward4 ,if you can find huge flat stones of one or two yards area1 and six to twelve inches thick1 you will feel especially fortunate4 ,in either case you will survey these with admiration1 and rejoice in thinking that1 though the rains may fall1 and the floods and the winds beat upon it1 your house will rest on its massive support in absolute security1 never showing the ugly cracks and other signs of weakness that spring from imperfect foundations4 ,perhaps not1 but it will be far more likely to do so than if the first course of stones in the bed of gravel or hard pan are no larger than you can easily lift4 ,you cannot give these huge bowlders such firm resting-place as they have found for themselves in the ages since they were dropped by the dissolving glaciers4 ,however you handle them1 there will be cavities underneath1 where the stone does not bear upon the solid ground4 ,the smaller ones you may rub or pound down till every inch of the motherly bosom shall feel their pressure4 ,upon this first course of--pebbles1 if you please1 lay larger ones that shall overlap and bind them together1 using mortar if you wish entire solidity4 ,as the wall rises1 introduce enough of large size to bind the whole thoroughly4 ,above the footing the imperfect bearings of the larger stones are of less consequence1 since there is little danger of their crushing one another4 ,illustration3 ,,rough ,,strength ,,and ,,smooth-,,faced ,,weakness4 ,i say you will probably set their smooth faces inward1 where they can be seen1 which is quite natural and well enough1 provided this is not their only merit4 ,if behind there is a lame and impotent conclusion1 a tapering point on which it is impossible to build without depending upon the bank of earth1 it will be better to have less beauty and more strength4 ,i don't like a foundation wall that is backed up2 it should be solid quite through2 if any difference1 let it be in favor of the back or outside4 ,you will find plenty of walls bulging into the cellar1 not one crowding outward4 ,if the footing of a foundation is made as it should be1 the upper part may be much thinner1 since there is no danger of crushing it by any probable weight of building4 ,it may be crowded inward by the pressure of surrounding earth1 especially if the building is of wood4 ,to guard against this1 interior buttresses of brick1 or partition walls in the cellar1 will perhaps cost less than a thicker main wall4 ,the buttresses you may utilize by making them receive shelves1 support the sides of the coal-bin1 etc41 while the partitions will take the place of piers1 and1 if well laid1 need be in smaller houses but four inches thick4 ,should your cellar happen to be in a gravelly knoll1--you are thrice and four times blessed if it is1--and if there is a stony pasture near it or a quarry from which you can get the chips1 you may try a concrete wall of small stones1 gravel1 and cement4 ,it will be strong and durable2 with a wheelbarrow you can make it yourself if you choose1 and the rats will despise it4 ,whether your house is one story or ten1 built of pine or granite1 you can have no better foundation than good hard brick laid in cement mortar2 cellular above the footing1 as brick walls should usually be made4 ,between this and stone it will be then a question of economy to be determined by local circumstances4 ,the details and accessories of cellars1 their floors1 ventilation1 and various conveniences1 belong to the interior equipments4 ,there is1 however1 one point that even precedes the foundation1--the altitude4 ,as the question commonly runs1 ,how high shall the top of the underpinning be8 ,of course this can only be given on an actual site4 ,it is unfortunate to plant a house so low in the ground that its cellar forms a sort of cesspool for the surrounding basin2 most absurd to set it up on a stilted underpinning until it looks like a ,western gatepost1 lifted every year a few inches out of the ground by the frost1 till it finally topples over and has to be set anew4 ,two things you will notice in locating your house1--as soon as the walls and roof are raised1 the distance to the street in front will seem to be diminished1 and the ground on which the building stands will appear lower than before1 lower than you expected or desired4 ,there is so much said and sung about houses being set too low1 that it is quite common to find them pushed out of the ground1 cellar and all1 as though this would atone for a want of elevation in the land itself4 ,there is little danger that you will place your house too high1 great danger that you will not raise the earth around it high enough4 ,be sure that after grading there shall be an ample slope away from the walls2 but whether you will have a high stoop1 or pass from the dooryard walk to the porch and thence to the front hall by a single step1 will depend upon the character of the house and its surroundings4 ,to express a generous hospitality the main entrance should be so convenient and inviting that it seems easier to enter than to pass the door4 ,this effect1 especially in large rambling houses1 is most easily obtained by keeping the first floor near the ground4 ,that hospitality and good cheer will always be found beneath your roof is my earnest wish4 ,,letter ,,vi4 ,from ,john4 ,,gravel-,,banks ,,and ,,quagmires4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,i'm all right on the gravel question4 ,you don't catch me building in anybody's quagmire4 ,there's plenty of rheumatism and fever 'n' ague lying around loose without digging for 'em1 and then building a house over the hole to keep 'em in4 ,i don't want to say anything against any man's building-lots1 but how in the light of common-sense a man can1 with his eyes open1 build his shanty on some of the streets in your enterprising city1 is too much for my understanding4 ,if they would first put in good big sewers1 running slick and clean to the river1 and underdrain the whole premises1 't wouldn't be quite so bad4 ,but ,i don't want them1 anyway2 give me the high land and the dry land4 ,i'm not particular about founding on a rock1 either2 that was well enough in old times when they didn't want cellars1 but let me have a good bed of sand or gravel4 ,cellar may not be quite so cool1 but all we need is to go down a little deeper1 while1 as for health1 ,i'd rather be ten feet under ground in such a spot than occupy the second-story front1 in some places ,i could mention4 ,your foundation is all right in theory1 and if ,i was going to put up a steam chimney1 a government building1 or anything else that must be done in the best way1 regardless of expense1 ,i should go for it4 ,for cheap1 common work1 't isn't worth while to be over-nice or over-wise4 ,i tell you1 there is danger of knowing too much about some things4 ,according to your notion1 a man couldn't do better than to stick the ground full of tenpenny nails to start with1 and ,i should think a thousand-legged worm would be about the most substantial animal that treads the globe4 ,as to planting my house1 when ,i've bought the lot1 ,i'll ask you to take a look at it4 ,i have a fancy for some sort of a sidehill1 so ,i can get into my house1 from one side at least1 without going up stairs out of doors1 and still have the first floor airy and dry4 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,vii4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,nature',s ,,bricks ,,are ,,better ,,than ,,ours4 ,,dear ,,john3 ,where to build your house may be1 in truth1 a question quite as important as how to build it4 ,i regret my inability to give you the advice you need4 ,dr4 ,bowditch has1 ,i think1 intimated that there is an elysian field not far from here of such rare sanitary virtue that if its locality were known there would scarcely be standing-room within its borders for those who would flock thither1 or something to that effect4 ,i trust we shall some time have a scientific practical investigation of the whole matter1 and such definite information as will enable us at least to qualify1 by artificial means1 evils that cannot1 in thickly settled regions1 be wholly avoided4 ,meantime stick to your text1 keep high and dry4 ,if you are bound to have a sidehill1 and can find none to suit1 you can doubtless make one of the earth thrown from the cellar wherever you locate4 ,have you decided what materials to use1 whether wood1 brick1 or stone8 ,you will hardly use any other4 ,glass houses are not popular1 although for their sunlight they ought to be2 paper ones are not yet introduced among us1--,i'm expecting them every year2 and iron1 important and useful as it is1 and destined to become more so1 is not adapted to such buildings as yours4 ,wood1 brick1 or stone1 then1--which of the three8 ,to spare you all possible confusion1 we will take them separately and in order1 beginning with the hardest4 ,for rural dwellings in ,new ,england stone is rarely used1 except for foundations below ground1 being1 according to the common notion1 better for that purpose than brick1 but not as worthy to be seen1 unless hammered and chiselled into straight lines and smooth surfaces4 ,errors both4 ,well-burned brick laid in cement mortar are nearly always as good as a stone foundation1 while nothing can be more effective in appearance than a well-laid wall of native1 undressed stone4 ,we have too long neglected one of the most available of our resources in not making use of the small loose stones that abound in many localities4 ,they are cheaper and better than bricks1 and1 rightly used1 so thoroughly in harmony with the nature around them that we should find them in common use if men were half as wise in accepting the means of grace provided for them as they are prone to seek out many inventions4 ,the earlier farmers with enormous industry built them into fences1 and then added a second story of wood to keep the sheep from walking over them1 or piled them up in conical heaps1 watch-towers for the woodchucks4 ,the later farmers1 with less patience but possibly more enterprise1 are running away from them to the smoother fields and richer mould of the ,western prairies4 ,we can do better than either2 for1 wherever found1 they may be used most favorably1 not only for foundation walls that are deeply hidden from mortal view1 but for the main walls of the entire building1--favorably1 not only in point of economy and strength1 but with most admirable result as to external appearance4 ,and here you touch your fundamental principle1 that the best outward effect can only be obtained by a judicious use of the materials with which you build4 ,you must not make the walls without any reference to their composition or proportions1 and then try to conceal the poverty and awkwardness of the structure by pinning up preposterous window-caps1 hanging horrible brackets under the eaves that must always be in doubt whether they support the cornice or are supported by it1 fixing fantastic verge-boards to the gables1 and covering the roof with wooden knick-knacks that mock consistency and defy description4 ,look rather to the materials at your command1 and1 whatever they may be1 try to dispose them in such way that1 while each part performs a legitimate1 necessary service1 you shall still have variety and harmony4 ,because ,i have suggested building your main walls of natural undressed stone1 you must not attempt to construct them of that alone4 ,the main corners1 the door and window jambs1 the caps and sills1 cannot well be made of these rough hard heads and cobbles that are scattered over the fields1 or from quarry chips4 ,and here will arise the question of cost4 ,it would seem decidedly grand to use for the corners substantial blocks of hewn stone1--sandstone1 granite1 marble1 or porphyry1--channelled and chamfered1 rock-faced1 tooled1 rubbed1 or decorated2 key-stones and voussoirs embellished with your monogram or enriched by any other charming device you choose to invent2 bands of encaustic tile1 brilliant in color and pattern1 belts of sculptured stone1 and historic tablets1--if you fancy and can afford them4 ,unless your ship is heavily freighted with ,australian gold or ,african diamonds1 by all means dispense with the cut stone1 and use brick for the corners1 caps1 and jambs1 and some good flag-stones broken into strips of suitable width and thickness for the sills and belt-courses4 ,this will give you a contrast in color 7unless you have the reddest of red sandstone for the walls71 the utmost economy and durability of construction1 and a whole effect very likely better than that of the stone4 ,these brick dressings may be light1 especially the jambs2 but the corners1 at least1 should be laid in such fashion as to bind well into the stone walls1 and if of considerable height1 should be strengthened by belts of stone1 or iron anchors running through the brick and extending into the main wall several feet each way4 ,any large blank surface may be relieved by a little ingenuity in the selection of the stones for the main walls1 introducing1 perhaps1 some of regular shapes and size1 the raised mortar1 which may be colored dark or red1 marking the joints1 or inserting a belt of different color4 ,horizontal bands of brick laid in fancy pattern may be convenient and effective4 ,of course you will not adopt this style of wall unless there is a crop of suitable stones within easy distance4 ,it is more probable that you will be afraid to use what you have than that there are none to use4 ,whatever can be made into a stone fence will make the walls of a house1 if you are not too ambitious of height1 and do not attempt to make them too thin4 ,other things being equal1 the thicker the walls1 within certain limits1 the better4 ,you don't care to build a ,bastile1 but deep window-jambs without and within add wonderful richness and dignity4 ,if the walls cost little or no more1 as is often the case1 it is a pity to refuse the additional ground required for their extra thickness4 ,such walls should not be monopolized by hundred-thousand-dollar churches and fancy summer residences4 ,they are quite suitable for the simplest1 most unpretending country homes4 ,illustration3 ,,stone ,,body ,,with ,,brick ,,members4 ,you will understand the general idea thus far by the accompanying sketches1 with which ,i must close this letter1 without concluding the subject4 ,,letter ,,viii4 ,from ,john4 ,,there ,,is ,a ,,soft ,,side ,,even ,,to ,a ,,stone ,,wall4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,i'm slowly digesting your last production2 not being an ostrich1 it goes rather hard4 ,for all that1 it may be worth thinking of4 ,perhaps ,i shall be converted by the time the subject is fully shown up4 ,i suppose we've always looked upon these loose rocks and stones sprinkled about the country as a part of the original curse1 and have never thought of turning them to any sensible use1 though good old ,dr4 ,hopkins seemed to have faith that their soft side would some time be discovered4 ,funny1 isn't it1 that we should burn so much fuel and spend so much labor making bricks and other artificial building-blocks1 when there are piles of them ready made1 that would only cost the hauling8 ,not always on the square1 to be sure1 although in some places the ground is full and running over with flat stones that can be laid up as easily as shingles4 ,they would hardly need any mortar1 and the brick trimmings you describe would be a nuisance1 except for looks4 ,miles and miles of stone-walls you will see1 up and down hillsides and across pastures that don't look worth their taxes4 ,once in a while the lower half of a cider-mill1 the back side of a barn-yard shed1 or something of that sort1 is made of them2 but the people in these parts seem to think it would be folly to use them for anything more dignified4 ,i suppose1 because they are too simple and natural1--just as the ,almighty made them4 ,these square-cornered1 flat-sided fellows are not the commonest kind1 however2 and ,i'm free to maintain that ,i don't want to build my house more than seventy-five feet high of the smooth cobbles that will scarcely hang together in a respectable stone-heap4 ,i should expect the whole thing would come tumbling down some rainy night4 ,mrs4 ,john don't take to the notion of a stone house--not yet4 ,says they're wofully old-fashioned and poky1--look like ,canadians and poor folks4 ,i just keep still and let her talk1--it's the best way4 ,won't such walls be cold and damp8 ,how am ,i to know whether the stones that ,i can find are fit to use8 ,send you a boxful by express8 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,ix4 ,from the ,architect4 ,a ,,broad ,,house ,,is ,,better ,,than ,a ,,high ,,one4 ,,my ,,dear ,,john3 ,it will not be necessary for you to send me a stone-heap or a section of pasture-wall for inspection4 ,i would rather venture an opinion from your description4 ,of course1 these walls alone1 if solid1 as they doubtless must be1 will be cold and damp2 they must be furred off within to prevent moisture from condensing on the walls of the rooms4 ,this furring should be done with light studs1 secured to the floor timbers above and below1 having no connection with the stone walls1 the inside of which may be left quite rough1 whatever the builders in the elder days of art might say to such negligence4 ,for greater permanence and security against fire1 instead of wood furrings you may build a lining of brick1 leaving an air space of several inches between it and the stone1 very much in the same way as if the whole were of brick4 ,you say you would prefer not to build walls as high as a church tower of smooth cobblestones4 ,don't2 it wouldn't be wise4 ,still ,i have seen them1 of more humble dimensions1 laid in good cement1 as such walls always should be laid1 that seem as firm as unbroken granite4 ,but you will remember ,i only advise this mode of building on the condition that you are not ambitious of height4 ,if you are1 by all means curb your aspirations1 or else buy a city house six or seven stories in the air1 where you can gratify your passion for going up and down stairs4 ,there is the best reason in the world why a tall house in the country should look grim1 gaunt1 and awkward2 it is thoroughly inconvenient and out of place4 ,the area of arable land covered by human habitations does not yet interfere with agricultural products4 ,so let us spread ourselves freely4 ,when we have learned the beauty and the strength of co-operation for mutual helpfulness1 we shall see the prevailing mode of constructing houses in cities very much modified4 ,now they stand as books are placed on their shelves1--vertically and edgewise4 ,they would hold just as many people1 and be far more convenient1 if they could be laid horizontally1 one above the other4 ,illustration3 ,,breadth ,,and ,,height4 ,true1 this would involve floors impervious to sound1 and fire-proof1--by no means a fatal objection4 ,since we can neither fly nor go in the air1 like birds and angels1 it is well for us1 having found our appropriate level1 to abide thereon as far as may be4 ,there is no doubt that where dwellings must be built compactly in blocks1 as we call them1 the flat arrangement1 each tenement being complete on one floor1 is the cheapest and best4 ,even the fourth story in such a building is preferable to a house of eight or ten rooms1 two on each floor4 ,but this does not concern you1 unless you have a few thousands to invest in tenement-houses4 ,in the right place ,i like an old-fashioned one-story house1 but most people have a prejudice against anything so unpretending4 ,one other fact besides the worth of co-operation ,i hope the dwellers in cities will learn to recognize practically4 ,when there were no swift and screaming locomotives1 no cosey and comfortable horse-cars1 no red and yellow omnibuses even1 there was good reason why men must forego the boon of country air2 must forget the color of the ground1 the smell of the green things growing1 and the shape of the heavens above them4 ,but the reason no longer exists4 ,doubtless the business of a city should be as compact as possible2 but for its dwellings1 every consideration of comfort and happiness1 of physical and moral well-being1 demands that the inhabitants shall make the most of their migratory resources and--scatter2 find room to build1 not tenements or residences1 but homes for themselves and their children4 ,in the old time safety was found by crowding together within mural walls4 ,now the case is reversed4 ,where the population is densest1 temptations and dangers do most abound4 ,we've outgrown the walls1 let us overcome the evils that were bred within them4 ,there may be a prejudice against another quality of these stone walls4 ,they are rough4 ,roughness means want of culture and labor2 that implies want of money1 and that is--unpardonable4 ,but roughness does not mean any such thing4 ,what are mouldings and frets and carvings but a roughening of otherwise smooth surfaces8 ,artists of all kinds seek to remove even the appearance of an unbroken plane1 and nature abhors a flat exterior1 never allows one1 even in the most plastic material1 if it can be broken4 ,see the waves of the ocean1 the mimic billows on a snow-covered plain1 the rugged grandeur of the everlasting hills4 ,fancy a pine1 an oak1 or an elm tree with trunk and limbs smoothly polished6 ,what if the outside of your walls are somewhat uneven8 ,let them be so4 ,the shadows will be all the richer1 the vines will cling more closely1 and maybe the birds will hang their nests in some sunny corner4 ,do not1 then1 try to improve the natural faces of the stones with pick and hammer2 you will find it hard work1 and1 very likely1 worse than thrown away4 ,i think you will like1 both in exterior effect and in practical result1 the plan of building the walls of the first story of stone with brick dressings1 as described in my last letter1 making the remainder of the house of wood1 be the same more or less4 ,if the sketches ,i send you do not make you in love with this style1 or if you do not like to risk the experiment1 examine something already built before deciding against it4 ,but first explore the country around you and see if the stony prospect is good4 ,illustration3 ,,second ,,story ,,of ,,wood4 ,mr4 ,donald ,g4 ,mitchell not only writes in favor of this mode of building1 but proves his faith by his work2 his new house at ,edgewood being an admirable specimen of it4 ,you will find1 too1 some noteworthy examples at ,newport1 for which1 with much else in the way of applying a refined taste to rural affairs1 we are indebted1 directly or indirectly1 to the same well-known writer4 ,if1 after the pictures1 ,mrs4 ,john is still doubtful of the result1 the examples above mentioned will certainly allay her misgivings4 ,you must not think ,i would recommend this as a universal fashion1 even where the materials are abundant1 but give it place according to its merit4 ,i hope you will be spared the folly of building your house of dressed stone of uniform size and color1 lest it be mistaken for a large tomb or a small jail4 ,that you may not at present be compelled to take up your abode in either1 is my sincere wish4 ,,letter ,x4 ,from ,john4 ,,trout ,,brooks ,,are ,,better ,,than ,,street ,,sewers4 ,my dear architect3 ,we read1 we saw1 and--were conquered4 ,the pictures1 the arguments1 and especially the illustrious examples1 brought down the house1 or rather brought it up4 ,mrs4 ,john is not only fully reconciled to stone walls1 but she is decidedly unreconciled to any other1--that is1 for the first story2 the second story is to be of wood1 the walls shingled or slated instead of being covered with clapboards1 in the orthodox fashion4 ,she is delighted with the notion that her ,baltimore belles and the like can clamber against the house without being torn away every two or three years for paint4 ,on the strength of this notion1 she has already ordered a big lot of all sorts of herbs and creeping things1 from grape-vines and ,english ivy to sweet-peas and passion-flowers4 ,that's only one thing4 ,every time we go out to ride she gathers up from the wayside such a load of small rocks as makes the buggy-springs ache4 ,we found a smooth round stone1 yesterday1 that looks so much like my head she declares it must be a fossil1 and is bound to have it set over the front door instead of a monogram4 ,we follow your lead in another direction2 if we can't rise in the world without going up stairs for it1 we'll try to cultivate the meek and lowly style4 ,your best point1 according to my thinking1 is on the migration question4 ,i read that paragraph over twice1 and stuck a pin at the end of it4 ,it doesn't concern me1 to be sure2 but ,i have the utmost pity for a man who is content to live all his life shut in between brick walls4 ,to undertake to bring up a family of boys and girls where all the blessed freedom of out-door life is denied them1 is worse than pitiful1--it's heathenish4 ,not that every boy ought to live on a farm and work in a barn-yard1--hoe corn all summer and chop wood all winter1--but ,i don't believe a child can grow up strong1 healthy1 and natural1 body-wise and soul-wise1 unless he has a chance to scrape an acquaintance with ,mother ,nature with his own hands4 ,when ,i stake out ,john ,city it will be a city of magnificent distances1 in the form of a ,greek cross1--two wide streets crossing each other at right angles in the middle2 all the business at the four corners1 where there will be plenty of short cross streets2 the dwellings stretching away for miles on the two broad avenues2 house-lots one to ten acres2 ,union ,pacific ,railroad will cut through the centre corner-wise2 and the ,metropolitan ,transportation ,company1 or something else with a big name1 will run elegant cars like shuttles through the two main streets1 and ,mrs4 ,a at the ,west ,end can call on ,mrs4 ,b at the ,north1 ,south1 or ,east ,end1 ten miles away1 with less trouble than you in your city can go from ,salem to ,howard ,street4 ,similarly1 ,springfield ought to stretch from ,longmeadow to ,chicopee ,street1 from ,indian ,orchard to ,agawam4 ,at all events1 if your folks will make the most of their opportunities1 it will some day be one of the most charming inland cities on the continent4 ,whether there is good sense1 public spirit1 and patriotism enough to make it so remains to be seen4 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,xi4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,the ,,strength ,,and ,,durability ,,of ,,brick4 ,my dear ,john3 ,it is encouraging to know that my suggestions find some favor in your sight4 ,pray don't go too fast4 ,it isn't well to make up our minds fully until we have heard all sides1 lest we have them to unmake1 which is always more or less painful4 ,notwithstanding the peculiar merits of the stone walls1 the coming house1--the house that is to embody all the comforts and amenities of civilized life1--the house of safe and economic construction1 well warmed1 well ventilated1 defiant alike of flood1 frosty and fire1--the millennial house1 if you please1 will doubtless be a brick one4 ,don't be alarmed4 ,i know just what vision rises before your mind's eye as you read this4 ,a huge square edifice2 windows very high from the ground1 not very large1 square tops1 frame and sash painted white2 expressionless roof2 flat1 helpless chimneys perched upon the outer walls1 the course of their flues showing in a crooked stain2 at the back side a most humiliated-looking wooden attachment1 somewhat unhinged as to its doors and out at the elbows as to its windows1 evidently hiding behind the pile of brick and mortar that tries to look dignified and grand1 but only succeeds in making a great red blot on the landscape2 all the while you know the only homelike portion of the establishment is in the wooden rear part4 ,the front rooms are dark and gloomy1 the paper hangings are mouldy1 the closets musty and damp2 there is a combined smell of creosote and whitewash pervading the chambers1 and the ceilings hang low4 ,i don't wonder you object to a brick house in the country4 ,yet1 if you propose to build a model1 honest and permanent1 a house that shall be worth what it costs and look as good as it is1 ,i shall still recommend brick4 ,the growing scarcity of wood1 the usual costliness of stone1 the abundance of clay1 the rapidity with which brick can be made and used1--one season being sufficient to develop the most awkward hod-carrier into a four-dollars-a-day journeyman bricklayer1--the demand for more permanence in our domestic dwellings1 and the known worth of brick in point of durability and safety1--all these reasons will1 ,i think1 cause a steady increase in their use4 ,hence it behooves us to study the matter carefully1 and see whether any good thing can be done with them4 ,since the time1 long ago1 when the aspiring sons of ,noah said to one another1 ,go to2 let us make brick and burn them thoroughly1 to the latest kiln in ,hampden brick-yard1 there seems to have been little variety in the making or using of them1 except that among different nations they have assumed different forms4 ,they are found as huge blocks a foot and a half square1 and in little flinty cakes no bigger than a snuff-box4 ,the ,romans made the best ones1 some of their buildings having defied the elements for seventeen centuries1 and their mantle1 as to brickmaking1 has fallen upon the ,dutch4 ,they were found among the ancient ,peruvians1 and the ,chinese made beautiful the outside of the temple by giving a porcelain finish to the brick4 ,still ,i fancy they have always been more famous for their use than for their beauty2 but their utility is beyond all question4 ,if our modern experience doesn't prove it1 read this inscription from an ancient brick pyramid of ,howara3-- ,do not undervalue me by comparing me with pyramids of stone2 for ,i am better than they as ,jove exceeds the other deities4 ,i am made of bricks from clay1 brought up from the bottom of the lake adhering to poles4 ,notwithstanding these claims to veneration1 there is but little poetry about them1 and therefore1 ,i suppose1 but little progress4 ,compared with other materials1 they have undergone slight changes with us1 in color1 shape1 or modes of use4 ,a block of wood or stone contains1 in the eye of the artistic workman1 every possible grace of form and moulding2 but a brick is a square1 red1 uninteresting fact1 and the laying of them the most prosaic of all work4 ,by common consent we expect no improvement in their use1 but rather sigh for the good old times when work was honestly done and the size of the brick prescribed by law4 ,we associate them with factories1 boarding-houses1 steam-chimneys1 pavements1 sewers1--whatever is practical1 commonplace1 and undignified4 ,yet there are charming1 even delicate1 effects possible with these unpromising rectangular blocks4 ,illustration3 ,,cottage ,,cornices4 ,in your efforts to unite beauty and brickwork it will be well to begin modestly1 merely aiming to avoid positive ugliness4 ,do not feel bound to enclose your house by four straight unbroken walls1--brick are no more difficult to build in irregular shape than anything else1--and do not1 on any account1 make square-topped openings1 as the builders of the old-fashioned brick houses were wont to do4 ,doubtless you have read ,mr4 ,ruskin's vigorous protest against this particular architectural sin2 if you have not1 by all means do so1 only he proves too much1 and would fain make us believe that our doors and windows must not only be crowned by arches1 but they must be ,gothic arches1--doctrine to be received with some grains of allowance4 ,a pointed ,gothic arch may be1 often is1 very beautiful2 but1 applying our test of utility1 it is most obviously out of place1 and therefore inartistic1 where close economy1 convenience1 and abundance of light are required4 ,for the sake of strength1 if for no other reason1 let the top of the openings be arched1 but a low arch of one arc or two is often preferable to a high one4 ,if1 for economy's sake1 you wish to make the top of the sash square1 do so1 curving the upper portion of the frame as a sort of centre on which the masonry may rest2 but do not attempt this if the openings are wide1 and in any case relieve the wood segment by ornamental cutting or some other device1 otherwise you will have a weak and poverty-stricken effect4 ,or you may use a straight lintel of stone1 taking care to build a conspicuous1 relieving arch above it of stone or colored brick4 ,you will get the idea from the sketches1 and see that there is room for endless variety of expression and ornament without violating any of the first principles1 which you will do if you try to cover a square-headed opening with a straight arch of brick1 or leave a light1 horizontal stone cap without a protecting arch above it4 ,illustration3 ,,square ,,heads ,,with ,,brick ,,caps4 ,,letter ,,xii4 ,from ,john4 ,,the ,,weakness ,,and ,,sham ,,of ,,brickwork4 ,my ,dear ,architect3 ,you must have had a brick in your hat when you launched your last letter4 ,i suppose there's no doubt that brick walls will stand thunder and lightning in the shape of ,chicago fire and ,boston gunpowder better than anything else4 ,in fact1 ,i've always had a notion that if there are any houses in a certain place where they don't need them to keep out the cold1 they must be made of brick1 ,milton's gorgeous testimony to the contrary notwithstanding4 ,but when you undertake to show up the softness and beauty of brickwork1 you soar a little too high for me4 ,if our masons would only make walls that are able to bear their own weight2 not use more than half as much mortar as brick1 and that made of sand instead of dirt2 if they would build chimney-flues that will carry the smoke to the top of the building1 instead of leaving it to ooze out around the window-frames a dozen feet away1 as ,i once saw it in a costly building belonging to one of our ex-governors1 and remember that a wooden joist running square across a chimney-flue is pretty sure to get up a bigger draught than most of us care for2 if they wouldn't fill up the inside of the wall with bricks that it isn't safe to drop for fear they can never be picked up again2 in short1 if they'd do the work that can't be seen half as well as what is in plain sight1 ,i'd never say a word about beauty1 ,i wouldn't even ask for those elegant caps the masons are so fond of poking out over windows4 ,you can find at least ten thousand such in ,springfield4 ,some folks paint them1 sprinkle sand into the paint1 and then go on their wicked way rejoicing in the notion that they have told such a cunning lie as no feller can find out4 ,now and then the corner of a brick building is cobbled up into blocks and polished off in the same style4 ,if these are some of the beauties of brickwork1 ,i pray you have me excused4 ,if you have anything better to offer1 go ahead1 ,i'm open to conviction2 would rather be knocked down by an argument than a brickbat any time4 ,mrs4 ,john says she doesn't care a straw about bricks1 and hopes you won't spend much time talking about them4 ,she's bound to have a stone house1 whether or no1 and wants you to give us your notions about inside fixings1 especially the kitchen4 7,between you and me1 she wouldn't have said a word about the kitchen1 if ,i hadn't accused her of caring for nothing but bay-windows and folding-doors47 ,her sister ,jane has been over to see her1 and they've had a host of projects to talk over2 part of 'em ,i get hold of and part of 'em ,i don't4 ,jane isn't married1 but she's got some capital notions about housekeeping4 ,great on having things nice and handy inside1 especially for doing the work1 but she don't care much for the outside looks4 ,so she hopes you will get out of the brick-yard as soon as possible4 ,of course1 ,i shall read what you have to say whether they do or not1 but don't run wild on the subject4 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,xiii4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,skill ,,dignifies ,,the ,,most ,,humble ,,material4 ,dear ,john3 ,please tell ,mrs4 ,john and ,sister ,jane that ,i am as anxious to get into the kitchen as they are to have me2 and if ,i can succeed in giving suggestions that shall make the domestic work1 on which our comfort and happiness so largely depend1 easier and pleasanter1--restoring the wellnigh lost art of housekeeping to its native dignity1--it will be a grander achievement than designing the most beautiful exterior that ever adorned a landscape4 ,i'm perfectly aware that the outside appearance of the house is to the interior comfort thereof as the body to the soul1--no comparison possible between the two4 ,still1 they must possess their souls in patience and allow me to work according to my own plan4 ,moreover1 they must not neglect a careful study of the brick question4 ,a decided opinion is a good thing1 provided it is grounded on the truth2 otherwise it is a stumbling-block4 ,for yourself1 ,i assure you my head is level2 would that all brickwork were equally so4 ,beauty and bricks are not incompatible2 but remember1 there is one beauty of brick1 another beauty of stone1 and another beauty of wood4 ,do not confound them or expect that what pleases in one can be imitated in the other4 ,as you were admonished1 some time ago1 be honest2 let brick stand for brick1 then make the most of them4 ,your criticism on a very common form of brick-dressing is quite to the point4 ,aside from the stupid folly of painting them to imitate stone1 not only these window-caps1 but all horizontal belts having any considerable projection are essentially unfit for brickwork4 ,the mortar is almost sure to fail at the upper side1 giving the whole a look of premature decay1 even if well done at first4 ,a level course of long stone1 running through a wall of small stones or brick1 gives greater strength by binding the whole together4 ,this has not always a good excuse for extending beyond the wall-face4 ,but a projecting belt of brick adds nothing either in appearance or in reality4 ,if horizontal lines are required to diminish the apparent height of the building or affect its proportions1 make them of brick of different color from those of the main wall or laid in different position4 ,remember this2 fanciful brick decorations are quite sure to look better on paper than when executed4 ,as a rule1 the more complex the design the greater the discount4 ,such work is apt to have an unsafe appearance1 as though the whole was at the mercy of the bottom brick4 ,illustration3 ,,fragments ,,of ,,brickwork4 ,your own sense of fitness must decide what shall be the general character of your house1 whether light1 open1 airy1 or sober1 solid1 and dignified4 ,if the latter1 let the strength of the walls be evident4 ,set the window-frames as far back from the wall-face as possible1 in spite of any obstacles the builders may raise2 make the arches above the openings massive1 and the recessed portions of the cornice or any other ornamental work deep and narrow4 ,there are not the same objections to a recess as to a projection2 it is better protected1 any imperfection is less apparent1 and the desired effect of shadow is more complete4 ,much variety in color will not increase the appearance of strength1 but the expression will be emphasized by pilasters and buttresses2 also by the low segment arches and wide piers4 ,on the other hand1 for a lighter effect1 make the windows wider and crown them with semi-circles or pointed ,gothic arches4 ,leave out the corners of the piers in building them up2 introduce belts of brick laid in various positions and of different colors1 if you can get them1 as ,i trust you may4 ,indeed1 this very season1 a brickmaker has reported himself prepared to furnish black bricks and buff1 red bricks and gray1 all of good and regular standing4 ,you may be sure ,i gave him my blessing1 and invited him to press on4 ,i do not know whether he will prove to be the coming man in this department1 but whoever brings a greater variety of brick in form and color within reasonably easy reach will do a good work that shall surely have its reward2 for brick houses we must have1 ugly ones we won't have1 and rich decorations of stone we cannot afford for common use4 ,meantime1 if you can do no better1 do not hesitate to use brick that have been treated to a bath of hot tar4 ,they may look old-fashioned1 by and by4 ,no matter2 an old fashion1 if it is a good one1 is more to be admired for its age than despised4 ,it is only by reason of its falseness and inconvenience that it becomes absurd4 ,in the same category with colored bricks 7indeed1 they are a sort of spiritualized bricks7 are the brilliant-hued encaustic tile that are finding their way hither across the ,atlantic4 ,let us hope that the greatest country in the world will not long send three thousand miles for its building materials4 ,a variety of forms and sizes of bricks we may easily have when we demand it in earnest4 ,beyond question there is room for almost unlimited exercise of fancy in this direction4 ,we only need the taste to design appropriate shapes and to use them aright4 ,mr4 ,ruskin mentions certain brick mouldings as being among the richest in ,italy4 ,the matter of size relates rather to construction than ornament1 but it is very important here4 ,i think it will some time seem as unreasonable to make brick of but one size and pattern as it would now be to have all timber sawn of uniform dimensions4 ,illustration3 ,,bricks ,,that ,,are ,,not ,,square4 ,you are more liable to attempt too much in the way of decoration than too little4 ,don't make your house look as though it was intended for a brickmaker's show-case4 ,you will find the simplest designs the best4 ,i have seen a really good effect on the side of a large building from the mere holes left in the wall by the masons' stagings4 ,one thing more3 ,do not become possessed with the idea that a brick house must be a large or an expensive one4 ,it may be small and cheap1 but withal so cosey and domestic1 so thoroughly tasteful and picturesque1 that you will have an unquestioning faith in the possibility and the desirableness of love in a cottage1 the moment you behold it4 ,on the other hand1 by making the best of your resources1 it is possible to build a large1 plain1 square house1 a perfect cube if you please1 that shall not only be homelike in appearance1 but truly impressive and elegant4 ,how8 ,i've been trying to illustrate and explain4 ,by being honest2 by despising and rejecting all fashions that have nothing but custom to recommend them2 by using colored and moulded brick if you can use them well2 by not laying the outside work in white mortar1 and by exercising your common-sense and independence1 both of which qualities ,i am sure you possess4 ,i must beg ,mrs4 ,john and ,sister ,jane 7by the way1 ,i'm flattered to know that a notable housekeeper finds anything promising in what ,i have thus far written you7 not to give up the ship4 ,one more broadside for the brick-yard1 and we will pass on to loftier themes4 ,,letter ,,xiv4 ,from ,john4 ,,every ,,man ,,to ,,his ,,trade4 ,my dear ,architect3 ,there is one point you might as well square up before you go any further4 ,i understood that ,i was to build my house for myself to live in1 not for my neighbors to look at4 ,but ,i appeal to any white man1 if you haven't had a deal more to say about the outside of the platter than the contents thereof4 ,to be sure1 it's what ,i might have expected4 ,it's a way you architects have4 ,you can no more help thinking how a house is going to look1 than a woman can help hoping her first baby will be a beauty4 ,i allow it would be a first-rate thing if we could have some streaks of originality1 just a trifle more of variety1 and a few glimpses of really good taste1 along with the crumbs of comfort2 and ,i'm willing to admit that your moves in that direction1 as far as ,i can follow them1 are all right4 ,still1 it's a downright fact1 that1 unless a man is a great simpleton or a small ,croesus1 he is more anxious to make his house cosey and convenient1 than he is to outshine his neighbors or beautify the landscape4 ,sister ,jane wants to know whether1 in case one wishes to begin housekeeping on a small scale1 it would be as easy to make additions to a brick house for future need1 as to a wooden one4 ,she doesn't ask on her own account1 but for a friend of hers who is talking of building4 ,i expect you'll inquire pretty soon who's running these letters1--you or ,i2 but if we don't sometimes show our ignorance by asking questions and making comments1 how are you going to know what sort of information to shed8 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,xv4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,the ,,coming ,,house ,,will ,,be ,,fair ,,to ,,see ,,and ,,made ,,of ,,brick4 ,dear ,john3 ,once for all1 your questions and those of ,sister ,jane or any of her friends and relatives are always in order4 ,the more the better4 ,i will do my best to answer them1 if not exactly by return mail1 yet as soon as may be4 ,other things being equal1 a house built of brick may be as easily increased to suit a growing family as one built of wood4 ,there is necessarily a loss attending any change in a finished building1 yet it is often well to arrange one's plans with reference to future additions4 ,will it be in order for me to express to ,sister ,jane my approval of any young man who is willing to begin life on a small scale1 undertaking no more than he can do honestly and well1 yet with ambitious forethought providing for future increase8 ,you seem to be slightly in error upon this point4 ,i have not said you must build your house without any regard to the exterior1 or intimated that it would even be right to do so4 ,i only protest against building for the sake of the exterior1--against sacrificing thoroughness and interior comfort to outside display1--against using labor and material in such fashion that they are worse than thrown away1 their whole result being false and tasteless1--against every kind of ostentation and humbug4 ,the truth is1 we have all gone astray1 literally1 like sheep4 ,we follow1 for no earthly reason than because some one1 not a whit wiser than we1 happens to have rushed blindly in a certain direction4 ,of domestic architecture what need is there to speak6 ,how small1 how cramped1 how poor1 how miserable in its petty meanness1 is our best6 ,how beneath the mark of attack and the level of contempt1 that which is common with us6 ,thus ,mr4 ,ruskin on the domestic architecture of ,england4 ,what would that merciless critic say1 or rather what profundity of silence would he employ to express his opinion1 of ours8 ,it will be well for him and for us if he holds to his resolve never to visit ,america4 ,this servile spirit of imitation1 blind following of blind guides1 is by no means confined to the outsides of our houses2 it not only penetrates the interiors1 but more or less influences all our affairs4 ,charge me with a professional interest if you will1 ,i assure you no man can1 in justice to himself or the community1 build a house for his own use just like any other4 ,he must attempt something better adapted to his needs and tastes than that can be which precisely suits some one else4 ,if he can give no better reason for building as he builds1 for furnishing as he furnishes1 for living and thinking as he lives and thinks1 than that another has done so before him1 he may serve for the shadow of a man1 but will never make the substance4 ,eastlake1 another ,english authority1 refers to continental cities and villages the first glimpse of which is associated with a sense of eye-pleasure which is utterly absent in our provincial towns4 ,and then1 to drain the dregs of our humiliation1 we are asked by his ,american editor to believe that1 nevertheless1 certain towns of the ,british ,isles are miracles of picturesqueness as compared with ,american towns1 which have nothing but a succession of tame1 monotonously ugly1 and utterly uninteresting streets and squares to offer to the wearied eye4 ,yes1 ,i am anxious about the outside of the house1 but do not for a moment forget that it should always be subordinate to the weightier matters1 the higher and holier uses of home buildings4 ,illustration3 ,,picturesque ,,america4 ,have ,i squared up your point8 ,let us return to the trowel4 ,the somewhat vexed question of mortar you shall answer according to your taste1 so far as to choose between dark gray--black it is commonly called--and some shade of red1 resembling the brick used4 ,between these two there seems to me to be one of those questions of taste1 concerning which we are not permitted to dispute4 ,with the dark mortar the joints will be visible1 modifying the color of the wall1 in some cases1 perhaps1 improving it2 while the red will give a more uniform tint1 on which not only colored brick or stone will appear to the best advantage1 but the lines of the openings and other essential details are brought out in clearer relief4 ,you would perhaps expect coloring the mortar the same shade as the brick to give precisely the effect of painting the entire wall4 ,but it is not so4 ,as in wood or stone1 though in less degree1 there is a kind of natural grain1 even in the unnatural material1 strengthened by oiling1 but softer and richer than any painted surface4 ,there seems to be no evidence that the mortar is injured by proper coloring-material1--mineral paints1 or even lampblack1 if you like it2 ,i don't4 ,whether you like it or not1 you are not to use white mortar for the outside work4 ,unless1 indeed1 you propose to build of pressed brick1 in which case you will need it to show your neighbors how fearfully and wonderfully nice you are4 ,if you are so devoted to worldly vanity as to build in that fashion in the country1 ,i don't believe it will be possible for me to help you4 ,chimneys deserve a chapter to themselves1 they are so essential and so often abused4 ,let them start from the cellar-bottom and run straight and smooth to the very outlet4 ,if you wish to be exceptionally careful and correct1 use round pipe1 cement or earthen1 enclosed by brick4 ,when it is so well known how often destructive fires are caused by defective flues1 it is surprising that more care is not taken in building chimneys4 ,they should be intrusted to none but workmen who are conscientious as well as skilful1 otherwise every brick must be watched and every trowel full of mortar2 for one defect ruins the whole1 and five minutes after the fault is committed it can never be detected till revealed by the catastrophe4 ,if the spaces between the bricks were always filled with good mortar1 it would be better not to plaster the inside of the flues1 as the mortar is liable to cleave from the brick1 and1 hanging by one edge1 form lodging-places for soot4 ,as commonly built it is safer to plaster them within and without1 especially without1 for that can be inspected4 ,the style of the visible part must depend upon the building4 ,one thing lay up in the recesses of your lofty mind3 ,a chimney is most useful and honorable1 and you are on no account to be ashamed of it4 ,don't try to crowd it into some out-of-the-way corner1 or lean it off to one side to clear a cupola1--better burn up the cupola1--or perch it daintily on a slender ridge like a brick marten-box2 let it go up strong1 straight1 and solid1 asserting its right to be1 wherever it is needed1 comely and dignified1 and finished with an honest stone cap4 ,ruins are charming in the right place1 but a tattered chimney-top on an otherwise well-preserved house is vastly more shabby than picturesque4 ,a common objection to brick houses is their redness2 but there is no law against painting them1 if their natural color is really inharmonious4 ,paint will improve the walls1 will last longer on good brickwork than on wood1 and there is no deception about it1 unless you try to imitate stone4 ,still1 it is not necessary1 oil being just as good2 and there is a sort of solid comfort in knowing that your house will look just as well fifty years hence as it does now1 that it will mellow and ripen with age1 and not need constant petting and nursing to preserve its tidiness4 ,the model house to which ,i alluded in beginning this subject will be1 in brief1 somewhat as follows3 ,the outer walls will be vaulted1 thoroughly non-conducting both of heat and of moisture4 ,all the partitions will be of brick1 precisely adapted in size to their use1--,i am not sure but they will be hollow4 ,the body of the floors will be of brick1 supported1 if need be1 by iron ties or girders1 all exactly fitted to the dimensions of the rooms1 so that not a pound of material or an hour of labor shall be wasted on guess-work or in experiments4 ,from turret to foundation-stone1 the house will be a living1 breathing1 organic thing4 ,if the weather prophet will declare what the average temperature of the winter is to be1 we can tell to a hodful how much coal will maintain a summer heat throughout the establishment4 ,you may be sure it will not be more than you now use in keeping two rooms uncomfortably hot and in baking the family pies4 ,there will be no lathing1 except occasionally on the ceilings2 even this will not be necessary4 ,you may make a holocaust of the contents of any room in the house1 and1 if the doors1 finish1 etc41 happen to be of iron1 as they may be1 no one in the house will suspect your bonfire1 until the heap of charcoal and ashes is found4 ,dampness and decay1 unsavory odors and impure air1 chilly bedrooms and cold floors1 will be unknown4 ,the ears in the walls will be stopped1 there will be no settlement from shrinking timbers1 no jelly-like trembling of the whole fabric when the master puts his foot down4 ,finally1 the dear old house will be just as sound and just as lovely when the future ,john brings home his bride as when his grandsire built it4 ,and it won't cost a cent more than the weak1 unstable things we're raising by the thousand4 ,the coming house will surely be a brick one1 but before it comes there will be plenty of work for the carpenters1 and ,i shall not be at all surprised if you finally decide to build of wood4 ,,letter ,,xvi4 ,from ,mrs4 ,john4 ,,domestic ,,discipline4 ,,mr4 ,,architect3 ,dear ,sir1--,yesterday afternoon ,sister ,jane and ,i went out after ,may-flowers4 ,we didn't find any1 but on our way home met the schoolmaster1 a friend of ,jane's1 who knew where they grew and offered himself as a guide4 ,i was too tired to walk any farther1 so they went off without me4 ,coming into the house1 ,i was taken all aback by the sight of ,john lying on my best lounge1 his muddy boots on his feet1 his hat on the floor1 and your last letter crumpled savagely in his hand4 ,i was vexed1 thankful1 and--frightened4 ,i've taught the baby1 who is only twenty-nine months old1 to hang up his little cap1 and not to climb into the chairs with his shoes on1 but ,i can't make a model husband of ,john4 ,he is as good as gold1 but will leave his hat on the floor1 his coat on the nearest chair1 and never keeps himself or any of his things in order in the house4 ,he says it's born with him2 comes from a long line of ancestors 7he's been reading ,darwin lately7 who lived in houses without any cupboards or drawers or closets1 and he could no more put away his hat and coat when he comes in than a blue-jay could build a hang-bird's nest4 ,yes2 ,i was vexed1 but thankful1 too1 that ,jane was out of sight4 ,of all people in the world2 she has the least mercy for anything like domestic untidiness4 ,i only hope she will some time have a house and a husband of her own2 if one doesn't shine and the other shake1 her practice will fall a long way behind her preaching4 ,let me warn you now1 not to attempt making any plans for her4 ,it will be worry and vexation of spirit from first to last4 ,every knot will be examined1 every shingle ironed flat before it is laid1 every nail counted and driven by rule4 ,when ,i tell her it would wear me out1 body and mind1 to feel obliged to keep things always in order1 she gravely reminds me that ,mrs4 ,keep-clean lived ten years longer than ,mrs4 ,clean-up1 besides having an easier time1 a tidy house1 and an enviable reputation all her life4 ,yes2 ,i was thankful she had gone philandering off after ,may-flowers1 and hoped she would stay till ,i had had time to brush up the room and get ,john into presentable shape4 ,but as soon as ,i went to rouse him ,i was thoroughly frightened4 ,his face was flushed1 his hair was ruffled1 and he looked up in such a dazed kind of way1 ,i really thought he was going to have something dreadful4 ,he held out your letter and told me to read the last sentence1 which ,i did4 ,even then ,i didn't understand what was the trouble until he went on to say that your final charge was too much for him4 ,he was totally discouraged4 ,you began1 he said1 by urging him to build a stone house1 which neither of us liked1 though we finally came around to it1--even went so far as to commence hauling stones4 ,all at once you went into ecstasies over brickwork1 and argued for it as though our hope of salvation lay in our living in a brick house4 ,now1 as he was beginning to feel that he must change his mind again 7he would almost as soon change his head7 and cultivate an admiration for brickwork1 you must needs switch off upon another track and coolly advise him to build of wood6 ,he declared he was further from a new house to-day than three months ago4 ,at that rate we should live in the old one till it tumbled down over our heads1 which ,i don't propose to do4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,wise ,,general4 ,the baby was asleep1 so ,i sat down on the lounge1 took ,john's head in my lap1 and tried to explain what you meant4 ,i told him ,i had heard enough about brick1 and didn't care what you said about wood4 ,we should hold to our original plan and have a stone house2 but you didn't know where it was to be1 and wished us to be thoroughly posted1 then use our common-sense and decide for ourselves what it should be4 ,in some places it would be most absurd to build of wood2 in others equally so to build of anything else4 ,the matter of cost1 too1 might affect our choice1 and that you knew nothing about4 ,in my efforts to restore his equanimity1 ,i had forgotten my broom and dust-pan1 lying in the middle of the floor2 forgotten ,john's big boots1 not only on the lounge1 but directly on one of ,jane's most exquisite tidies2 forgotten--actually forgotten--the baby1 and was treating my disturbed husband in genuine ante-matrimonial style1 when1 of all things to happen at this very crisis1 in marched ,sister ,jane and her cavalier6 ,simultaneously the baby awoke with a resounding scream4 ,now there are three things that my notable sister holds in especial abhorrence1--untidy housekeeping1 sentimental demonstrations between married people1 and crying babies2 and here they all were in an avalanche1 overwhelming1 not only herself1 but a most prepossessing young man1 who1 for all ,i knew1 was viewing me with a critic's eye1 as a possible sister-in-law1 and wondering how far certain traits are universal in families4 ,you will think ,i stand in great awe of ,sister ,jane2 and so ,i do1 for though she is two years younger than ,i1 unmarried1 and1 candidly1 not a bit wiser1 she is one of those oracular persons who1 unlike ,mr4 ,toots1 not only fancy that what they say and do is of the utmost consequence1 but contrive to make other people think so1 too4 ,it is one of my husband's notions that nothing in the house is too good to be used every day by those he loves best1 meaning baby and ,i4 ,so ,i have no parlor--no best room always ready for exhibition--into which ,i could send them1 but my inspiration came just at the right moment4 ,don't1 ,jane1 don't1 for pity's sake1 bring all that rubbish into the sitting-room6 ,she had her hands full of moss and flowers4 ,please take it out on the piazza4 ,john will carry you some chairs4 ,and ,jane was positively too much astonished to say a single word1 but turned and walked out the way she came in1 driving her dutiful escort before her4 ,fortunately1 our piazza is eight or nine feet wide4 ,i wouldn't have one less than that4 ,so ,john took out the chairs1 and was properly presented to the young gentleman4 ,half an hour later1 when order once more prevailed1 ,i went out to find ,jane finishing a lovely moss basket1 and the gentlemen amiably building air-castles4 ,john had been reading your last letter aloud1 omitting your reply to ,jane's question1 and was advocating brick in a most edifying fashion4 ,as ,i sat down1 the young man inquired very seriously if there would be any difficulty in making additions to a brick house1 in case one wished to begin in a small way4 ,john gave one of his queer looks1 and guessed not2 ,i1 for a wonder1 kept still2 and ,jane blushed brilliantly1 remembering that she had already asked the same question on her friend's account4 ,i am1 truly1 anxious about the kitchen and closets1 whatever nonsense my husband may write1 but should be sorry to have the house look just like any other1 and1 of course1 wish to have it look well4 ,why may not our stone house be built in the manner of your model brick one1 at least basement and first story1 thoroughly warmed and ventilated1 brick partitions1 fire-proof1 and so on1--that is1 if we can afford it8 ,and that brings me to the question that ,i intended to ask in the beginning1 ,are these suggestions intended to apply to common kind of buildings or only to those that are usually described as first class8 ,architectural rules and the principles of good taste are not thought to concern those who1 in building1 know no law but necessity1--with whom the problem is to get the greatest amount of use for the least possible outlay4 ,john is industrious and serene1 this morning4 ,he thinks my letter isn't very practical1 and hopes you won't forget that the subject in hand is house-building1 not family history4 ,yours truly1 ,,mrs4 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,xvii4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,good ,,taste ,,is ,,not ,a ,,foe ,,but ,a ,,friend ,,to ,,economy4 ,,mrs4 ,,john3 ,dear ,madam1--,for your wise and tender treatment of ,john you have my heartiest thanks and admiration4 ,it is not strictly an architectural suggestion1 but could you not found a sort of training-school for wives who have not learned to manage their refractory husbands8 ,i'm sure you would have plenty of pupils4 ,your query as to applying these hints ,i am glad to answer4 ,instead of preventing its indulgence1 close economy demands the exercise of the most refined taste4 ,the very houses that must pay strict regard to the first principles of art are those upon which not one dollar can be wasted4 ,but these fundamental rules are identical1 whether the building costs five hundred dollars or fifty thousand4 ,when the newspapers describe first-class houses1 those above a certain size or cost are meant4 ,let us henceforth have a truer standard1 placing only those in the front rank whose design and construction are throughout in wise accord with the material of which they are built and the uses for which they are intended4 ,notwithstanding your want of interest in the wood question1 ,i must give your husband one chapter on that subject1 and promise him it shall be thoroughly practical1 free from all romance and family allusions4 ,,letter ,,xviii4 ,from ,john4 ,,our ,,picturesque ,,ancestors4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,i've no doubt it would be vastly agreeable to you to have ,mrs4 ,john keep up this end of the correspondence4 ,very gratifying1 too1 to another party1--the paper-makers4 ,it would be a big thing for them4 ,but ,i don't want to hire a housekeeper1 even in so good a cause1 not till ,i have a house4 ,in spite of ,mrs4 ,john's devotion to her first love 7,i mean the stone walls71 it is1 as you say1 quite possible that our family mansion will be wood2 and ,barkis is willin' to hear what you have to say about it4 ,one topic in your reply to my wife's historical report ,i hope you will work up more fully4 ,just explain1 if you can1 why the cheap buildings we have nowadays are so much less satisfactory to look at than those built fifty or a hundred years ago4 ,do you suppose the bravest artist that ever swung a brush would dare put an ordinary two-story house of modern style on the front seat in a ,new ,england landscape8 ,it would ruin his reputation if he did1--even without the ,french roof4 ,can you tell why8 ,there's no such objection to the homesteads of a generation or two ago4 ,don't tell me age is venerable1 and moralize about the sacred associations and old-time memories that lend a halo of poetry and romance and what-'s-his-name to these relics of the past4 ,that's all very well in its place1 but if our grandchildren can discover anything artistic or even picturesque in our common houses of to-day1 they'll be a progeny of enormous imaginations1--regular ,don ,quixotes2 windmills will be nothing to them4 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,xix4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,the ,,use ,,and ,,the ,,abuse ,,of ,,wood4 ,,dear ,,john3 ,one reason1 among many1 why the old-time houses are more grateful to the eye than those of similar cost but modern style1 is that they were built of wood honestly and legitimately used1 when wood was on all accounts the most suitable material for building4 ,it is so still1 and will be for a long time in many places1 for its economy and convenience4 ,given a fair chance1 it may be made very durable1 and is even rendered practically fire-proof without great cost1 by kyanizing and various other methods that are adopted for the same purpose4 ,you will find one mode described in the ,june number of ,harper's ,magazine for #ahgj4 ,wood is effective1 too1 in appearance1 when rightly used1 which1 more's the pity1 does not often happen2 for of all the materials that minister to human comfort and needs1 this seems to me the most abused4 ,iron1 like the old-time saints1 betrays not its solid worth till it has been tried by fire1--is all the better for being hammered and beaten2 stone is as much improved as an unruly boy by a good dressing2 while bricks1 like ghosts1 come forth from their purgatory for the express purpose of being laid4 ,all of these1 by appropriate treatment1 are invested with graces and glories that by nature they never owned4 ,but a tree1 graceful1 noble1 and grand beyond all human imitation1 is ignominiously hewn down1 every natural beauty disguised or annihilated1 and its helpless form compelled to assume most uncouth shapes and grimmest colors4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,groves ,,were ,,god',s ,,first ,,temples4 ,of late our injustice is greater and more disastrous2 for we are destroying the very sources of supply without providing for the future1 using wood in large quantities where other materials would be better and cheaper4 ,yet we think ourselves very economical4 ,once it was common to enclose wood buildings of all grades by walls at least ten or twelve inches thick1 sometimes much more1 and solid at that4 ,they were called log-houses4 ,now it is the fashion to use two by four inch studs standing in rows at such distances that the whole substance of the frame in a single sheet would be about half an inch thick4 ,these are suggestively called balloon frames4 ,the former would be huge and inconvenient1 the latter are often fair and frail4 ,that the frame of the outer wall of a wooden building should be mainly vertical is evident1 the outer studs1 if possible1 extending from the sill to the plates1 and as many of the inner ones as may be reaching through both stories1 especially those by the staircase1 where the shrinking of the second-floor timbers will reveal ugly cracks and crooks4 ,that the greatest strength and economy of material are secured by sawing logs into thin1 wide scantling is also beyond question1 but don't try to save too closely on a bill of timber4 ,a thousand feet added to the width of the studs and the depth of the joist will make the difference between a stiff1 unterrified frame1 and a weak1 trembling one4 ,neither be sparing of the number of these light sticks4 ,sixteen inches between centres is far enough for studs or joists2 twelve is better1 though particulars will depend on circumstances4 ,we have no use for the old-fashioned huge square posts1 horizontal girts1 and braces midway the walls of a two-story building1 having found that studs two inches by five will carry all that is required of them as well as if ten times as large4 ,let us generously give the light frame the stanch support of a sound1 well-matched1 and bountifully nailed covering of inch boards4 ,there's great virtue in tenpenny nails4 ,let the building be well peppered with them4 ,even after boarding1 your walls will have less than two inches of solid wood4 ,if you wish to make an example of yourself1 lay this boarding diagonally2 and1 to cap the climax of scientific thoroughness1 having given it a good nailing and a layer of sheathing-felt1 cover the whole with another wooden garment of the same style as the first1 and crossing it at right angles4 ,all of this before the final overcoat of clapboards1 or whatever it may be4 ,a house built in this way would laugh at earthquakes and tornadoes4 ,it couldn't fall down1 but would blow over and roll down hill without doing any damage except disarranging the furniture1 and1 possibly1 shaking off the chimney-tops6 ,it would hardly need any studs except as furrings for lath and plastering1 and would be very warm4 ,you know my mind about floors4 ,if you can't afford joists stiff enough to hold you without jarring1 even when you chance to cut a caper with the baby1 defer building till you are a little richer4 ,floors need the well-nailed linings1 too1 especially those of the upper stories1 almost as much as the outer walls1 and should be deafened with mortar if you can stand the cost2 if not1 with felt4 ,the upper floors we will talk over by and by4 ,some people have a fancy for filling in between studs with soft brick1 but ,i don't believe in it4 ,it is seldom well done1 it injures the frame1 and costs more than back plastering1 without being much if any better4 ,rather build a brick house outright4 ,it is well1 however1 to lay a course or two of brick in mortar against each floor1 filling the space between the inner base board and the outer covering entirely full and solid1 leaving never the faintest hint of the beginning of a chance for mice4 ,then when you hear the dear little creatures galloping over the ceiling1 driving hickory-nuts before them and making noise enough for a whole battalion of wharf rats1 there will be a melancholy satisfaction in knowing that you did your best to keep them out1 and these brick courses will make the house warmer by preventing currents of air4 ,here is one advantage in wood not easily obtained in brick or stone1--the overhanging of the whole1 or a part of the second story1 which may be made picturesque in effect and will add much to the charm of the interior4 ,it may be simply an oriel window swinging forward to catch the sun or a distant view1 an entire gable pushing the guest-chamber hospitably forth1 or the whole upper story may extend beyond the lower walls1 giving large chambers1 abundant closets1 and cosey window-seats4 ,of course1 such projections must be well sustained4 ,let their support be apparent1 in the shape of massive brackets or the actual timbers of the house4 ,speaking of brackets1 if we could learn to think of them1 wherever they occur1 simply as braces1 we might have better success in their treatment4 ,our abominable achievements in this line spring from an attempt to hide the use of the thing in its abstract beauty4 ,the straight three by four inch braces found under any barn-shed roof are positively more agreeable to look at than the majority of the distorted1 turned1 and becarved blocks of strange device that hang in gorgeous array upon thousands of ornamental houses4 ,besides these there are a host of pet performances of builders and would-be architects that deserve only to be abolished and exterminated2 put up1 as they are1 with an enormous waste of pine and painful toil of the flesh1 to become a lasting weariness to the spirit4 ,far more satisfying and truly ornamental is it1 to let the essential structure of the building be its own interpreter4 ,very much can be done by a skilful arrangement of the outer covering alone4 ,don't try to clothe the house with a smooth coat of boards laid horizontally with no visible joints or corner finish4 ,such a covering is costly1 defective1 and contrary to first principles4 ,clapboards are good4 ,hardly anything is better1 but don't feel restricted to one mode4 ,i send you some sketches suggesting what may be done in this department by a careful design in the use of wide boards and narrow boards1 clapboards and battens2 boards horizontal1 vertical1 and cornerwise1--any and all are legitimate1 and it may be well to use them all on one building4 ,illustration3 ,,outer ,,finish ,,of ,,wood4 ,many points relating to the use of wood and appertaining equally to buildings whose walls are of brick or stone1 we may find farther on4 ,in closing1 let me adjure you by all your hope of a comfortable1 safe1 and satisfying house1--by all the common-sense in your possession and all the capital at your command1--resolve that you will never--no1 never--build your house of unseasoned timber4 ,,letter ,,xx4 ,from ,john4 ,a ,,surrender ,,and ,,change ,,of ,,base4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,it was very well for ,noah and the other antediluvians1 who had any little building to do1 to wait for their timber to season4 ,when a man has a thousand years or so to live1 he can afford to take things easy4 ,it's different in this great and glorious nineteenth century1 when the chief aim is to make the shortest time on record4 ,you know our ,western farmers have a brisk way of going out into their thousand-acre wheatfields before breakfast1 reaping1 threshing1 and grinding the grain1 which their thrifty wives make into biscuit for the morning meal2 and you've heard of the young man who caught a sheep in the morning1 sheared it1 carded1 spun1 and wove the wool1 cut the cloth and made the coat to wear at his own wedding in the evening4 ,young ,america don't understand why a pine or an oak tree can't be put over the course1 like a sheep or an acre of grain4 ,besides1 you talk like an old fogy4 ,when a man says he has decided to build a house1 he means he is ready to begin1--right off2 and if our lumber-dealers won't keep dry stuff 7which of course they won't unless obliged to71 then he must use green4 ,i'm surprised you don't admire the fanciful brackets and other wooden straddle-bugs people are so fond of decorating their houses with4 ,by the way1 if these brackets are purely ornamental1 there ought not to be two alike1 any more than you'd have two busts or two pictures alike in one room4 ,suppose you collect an assortment of the rich and rarest specimens1 and hang them1 like ,lord ,dundreary's shirts1 all in a wo1 on somebody's villa4 ,wouldn't they be lovely8 ,i'd like to pursue the subject1 but have other fish to fry4 ,mrs4 ,john is right1 as usual2 our house will be a stone one1 and will not be built until next year4 ,meantime1 the timber will have a chance to season1 and we shall have time to study up our plan and sort of get the hang of it4 ,now ,i want you to transfer your interest to another case4 ,who should drop down upon us1 last week1 but our old friend ,fred8 ,been out ,west for the last dozen years or more2 enterprising and prosperous1 you'll be glad to hear4 ,come home to stay1 bringing a wife who is sure to make ,mrs4 ,john jealous1 a triplet of boys 7the oldest half as big as his dad71 and plenty of stamps4 ,he has bought the ,captain ,adams place1 and is going to move off the old gambrel-roofed house 7has a dozen or two men at work already7 and build a brick one in place of it4 ,i've given him the benefit of your advice in my behalf1 and now he invites me1 in ,western fashion1 to stand aside and give him a chance1--which ,i'm very willing to do1 for he's a tiptop fellow and so is ,mrs4 ,fred4 ,eastern people ,westernized1--if you can find a better sort of neighbors ,i'd like an introduction6 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,xxi4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,hospitality ,,and ,,sunlight4 ,,dear ,,john3 ,our old friend shall not be neglected4 ,he has only to present his case and make known his wishes4 ,meantime1 in arranging your own plans1 be generous if you can2 not lavish or extravagant in expenditure1 but generous in feeling and expression4 ,let your doors and windows be wide1 and your roof be high4 ,a wide door is far more convenient than a narrow one1 usually much better in appearance2 and for the windows1--when shall we learn the unspeakable worth of the bountiful light of heaven8 ,does ,mrs4 ,john complain that the sunlight will fade her carpets8 ,let them fade1 and know of a truth that all the colors of all the carpets of all the looms that ever throbbed are not worth to the civilized mortals who tread the dust-containing fabrics one single hour of unobstructed sunshine4 ,is it that our deeds are evil1 that we seem to love darkness rather than light2 or is it through our ignorant exclusion of this glorious gift1 offspring of heaven first born1 that we are left to wander in so many darksome ways8 ,be generous1 did ,i say8 rather try to be just to yourself4 ,practically1 the larger opening is scarcely more expensive than the small one4 ,the work of construction is no greater1 and the material for the door or window costs but little more than the thicker wall of wood1 brick1 or stone4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,old ,,house ,,at ,,home4 ,i remember an old farm-house on the side of one of our rocky ,new ,england hills1 a type of a fashion almost extinct1 broad and brooding1 low in the walls1 small windows and far between1 high roof1 wide gables1 pierced by windows of various sizes1 and queerly located1 as if the huge garret were inhabited by a mixed company of dwarfs and giants1 each with his own particular window suited to his height2 in the centre a massive chimney like the base of a tower1 out of which the smoke rolled in lazy curves4 ,at the east side of the house1 under the narrow eaves1 and opening1 ,i think1 into the long kitchen1 was one huge window1 as high as the others1 and as wide as it was high4 ,how it found a place there ,i never knew1 but nothing could be more benign in effect than its generous breadth4 ,the panes were small and green and warped1 after the manner of glass known to former times2 but through it the sun poured a flood of warm light every morning1 and on winter evenings the glow of the firelight within made a grand illumination far across the snowy hillsides2 yet ,i don't think the old window was ever truly appreciated4 ,the others seemed to despise it1 and try to keep at a distance in their narrowness and regularity4 ,the little square loopholes in the gables lifted their diminutive eyebrows in contempt2 even the green door looked blank and scowling1 as though at a possible rival4 ,i fancy the housekeeper fretted at the larger curtain covering this wide1 unwinking eye1 and the extra labor required on cleaning-days4 ,but this one great square window was the sole redeeming feature beneath the roof of the ancient farm-house4 ,beneath the roof1 ,i say4 ,the roof itself was1 and is1 and ever shall be the great charm of those antiquated houses1--not of the old alone1 but if any new house shall ever rise1 if you succeed in building your own so that it shall seem to be the abiding-place of the incarnate genius of domestic happiness1 the roof of your earthly paradise will be bold and high4 ,pierced by windows it may be1 and broken by gables1 but steep enough to shed rain and snow1 and high enough to be plainly visible to the coming guest1 promising safety and welcome beneath its tranquil shade4 ,practically1 the steep roof is better than any other1 because a flat one cannot be as permanently covered with any known material at so little cost1 the multitudes of cheap and durable patent roofings to the contrary notwithstanding4 ,by steep roofs ,i mean any that have sufficient pitch to allow the use of slate or shingle4 ,such need not be intricate or difficult of construction to look well1 but must be honest and useful4 ,they can be neither unless visible1 and here we see the holy alliance of use and beauty2 for the character and expression of a building depend almost wholly upon the roof4 ,you will lose1 too1 under the flat roof1 the roomy garret of the old high-roofed houses4 ,these have for me a wonderful fascination4 ,whether the rain upon the shingles1 the mingled fragrance of seeds and drying herbs1 the surprising bigness of the chimney1 the mysteries hidden in the worm-eaten chests1 the almost saintly charm of the long-unused spinning-wheels1 crumbling mementos of the patient industry of former generations1 or the shine of the stars through the chinks in the shrunken boards1 the old garret and all its associations are among the long1 long thoughts4 ,i sometimes doubt whether the modern conveniences we are so fond of proclaiming are really an equivalent to the rising generation for this happiest of playrooms1 this storehouse of heirlooms1 this silent but potent tie1 that binds us to the life1 the labor1 and the love of the past4 ,illustration3 ,,forty-,,two ,,feet ,,square4 ,let there be light1 too1 in this upper story4 ,spinning spiders and stinging wasps are not half so terrible to the children who will make a half-way paradise of the garret as the darkness that is covered by an unlighted roof4 ,if you have been living in cottage-chambers1--rooms in which a full-sized man can hardly stand erect in the centre1 and a well-grown baby scarcely creep at the sides1 unventilated1 heated beyond endurance during the hot summer days1 and retaining their heat through the long1 wakeful nights1--rooms in which the furniture must stand at various distances from the walls as if marshalled for the house-cleaning battle1 but in which even the making of beds is a work of supreme difficulty1--if you've been living in such rooms as these1 ,i don't wonder1 whatever architects or other men may say1 that ,mrs4 ,john objects1 and insists on good1 square chambers4 ,but good1 square chambers no more require flat roofs than good1 square common-sense requires a flat head4 ,i don't believe you will contrive a house1 of whatever form or size1 that may not be covered more cheaply1 more securely1 and more tastefully by a steep roof than by a flat one4 ,of course1 ,i'm supposing your house to be isolated4 ,buildings in crowded streets or in blocks require1 on all accounts1 entirely different treatment4 ,by all means1 then1 have wide doors1 generous windows1 and high roofs2 and if you must build with strict economy you may be morally certain that your house1 though not perhaps as altogether lovely as you might wish1 will still be cheerful and homelike4 ,allow me to add1 that1 while faithfully striving to build a house that shall be honest and cheerful1 you will surely find yourself growing in the same direction4 ,,letter ,,xxii4 ,from ,fred4 ,,unprofessional ,,sagacity4 ,,dear ,,architect3 ,our mutual friend ,john recommends me to ask your advice in regard to plans for my new house4 ,possibly you may help me1 although the floor plans sent herewith are about right2 rooms enough and of the right size1 the principal ones adapted to the usual widths of carpeting4 ,i am willing to expend something for the outside appearance1--in fact1 intend to have the best looking house in town1--but think it would be foolish to build more rooms or larger than ,i want1 much more so to dispense with needed room in order to get a certain proportion of parts4 ,i merely mention this because1 with all due respect1 ,i am doubtless the best judge of my own wants1 and don't care to have the dimensions of the building changed4 ,the relative location of the different apartments is also satisfactory1 except perhaps some slight deficiencies in the rear portion1 which ,i left incomplete for want of time4 ,as to exterior1 would like a ,french roof and tower1 with fashionable style of finish throughout4 ,shall commence laying foundation next week1 and you will please consider yourself invited to eat turkey with us in the new house next ,thanksgiving4 ,truly1 ,,fred4 ,,letter ,,xxiii4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,stairways ,,and ,,outlooks4 ,dear ,fred3 ,your plans are before me1 also your letter2 also the proverbs of ,solomon1 from which ,i read1 in order to fortify myself for the work before me1 sundry suggestions concerning the duty of faithful friends1--the undaunted1 disagreeable sort who cry aloud and spare not4 ,it's quite right for you to try to show what you would like1 quite true that you ought to know your own needs and tastes better than any one else1 and though ,i cannot agree with you1 ,i'm glad you have a mind of your own2 those who have not are of all men most miserable to deal with1 most difficult to suit4 ,indeed1 when a man feels clearly a lack in his own home-life which nothing but a new house will supply1 he is sure to have some decided notions as to what that house shall be4 ,but when you assure me in good set terms that this plan is your beau-ideal1 ,i must ask1 also with profound respect1 if you know what you are talking about4 ,put in your foundation1 by all means1 but remember how much easier it is to change a few lines on paper than to remove a stone wall4 ,it is not a pleasant job to cut a door into a finished and furnished room1 or even to change the hanging of it4 ,this house1 if ,i understand aright1 you intend for a permanent home4 ,how immeasurably better to spend six months1 if need be1 in perfecting the plans1 than by and by to be tormented with defects that can only be removed by great expense and trouble6 ,it's a grand thing to go ahead1 provided you are right2 the more go1 the worse1 if you happen to be on the wrong track4 ,candidly1 your plan hardly deserves to be called a beginning4 ,the arrangement of the rear part1 which you chiefly omit1 is1 in fact1 the most difficult and important of the whole4 ,but ,i've promised ,sister ,jane a chapter on kitchens1 of which1 when the time comes1 you can have the benefit4 ,meanwhile1 complete the unfinished part of your plan1--it only requires you to spend a few brief moments1--and ,i will venture some suggestions on this which lies before me4 ,the front stairs as laid down would reach just half-way to the second floor1--a peculiarity of amateur sketches so universal that we will say nothing more about it4 ,but what principle of good taste or hospitality requires you to blockade the main entrance to your house with this same staircase8 ,do you send all your visitors1 of whatever name or nation1 direct to the upper regions the moment they enter8 ,why1 then1 make the northwest passage thither the most conspicuous route from the door8 ,do you intend to restrict the family to the back stairs1 which by your showing are1 like the famous descensus ,averno1 wonderfully easy to go down1 but mighty hard to get up again8 ,yet you place these front stairs at the very farthest remove from the rooms most constantly used in both stories4 ,perhaps you propose to announce apartments to let on the second and third floors4 ,no8 ,what reason1 then1 for imitating hotels1 lodging-houses1 double-barrelled tenements1 and other public and semi-public buildings from which a short cut to the street is essential8 ,don't tell me you wish them to be ornamental as well as useful4 ,i know that2 but remember the stairs are built for the house1 not the house for the stairs4 ,you had better lose them wholly as an ornamental feature1 than destroy the charm of what should be the most prepossessing portion of the interior4 ,moreover1 they can have no pleasure-giving beauty if manifestly out of place1--a safe rule for general application4 ,build them where they will be most useful1 that is1 as near the centre of the house as possible2 make them grand and gorgeous as the steps to an ,oriental palace1--so broad and easy of ascent that the upward and onward way will be as tempting as were the ,alps to ,mr4 ,longfellow's aspiring youth4 ,but keep them away from the front door1--out of the principal hall1 which should be open1 airy1 and free1 suggesting something besides an everlasting getting up stairs4 ,if the staircase hall cannot be arranged at right angles to the main hall1 an arch or ornamental screen may be introduced1 partially separating the two and giving character to both4 ,have you been living in a city of late8 ,it must be1 else why so complacent with a narrow hall1 steep1 obtrusive stairs1 and1 ,o1 why1 tell me why1 do you not fix the location of your windows with some regard to views1 not only out of the house but through it4 ,i remember one country dwelling built by a retired civilian in the inevitable city style2 windows at the end giving a narrow view of the road in front1 while the entire side walls were absolutely blank and bare1 never so much as a knot-hole through which the occupants could get a glimpse of the field and forest that stretched broadly away at either side4 ,i've no doubt the owner hung oil-paintings on his parlor walls1 and thought them more lovely than all out-doors1--especially when he remembered their cost4 ,the old ,roman who declared his soldiers made a bigger racket with their arms than ,jupiter with his thunderbolts1 was modest beyond comparison with such a man4 ,your arrangement is not quite so bad as that of the aforesaid civilian1 but1 like hosts of others1 you fail to make the most of your opportunities4 ,suppose you were able to secure for a small sum a landscape painted by one of the masters and esteemed of great value4 ,you would think it folly to let the chance pass unimproved4 ,by simply cutting a hole in the wall you may have a picture infinitely grander than human artist ever painted2 grander in its teaching1 in its actual beauty1 its variety1 and its permanency2 grander in everything except its market value4 ,i am not sure but your children's children will find some one window in the old homestead that commands a view of the everlasting hills1 an heirloom even of greater pecuniary value than the rarest work of art4 ,do not forget1 either1 the views through the house4 ,if your windows can be placed so that throwing open the doors from room to room or across the hall will reveal a charming prospect in opposite directions1 there's a sense of being in the midst of an all-surrounding beauty1 hardly possible when you seem to look upon it from one side only4 ,you have surely been abiding in a city4 ,the interior of your house is all that concerns you or your family4 ,the outside--,french roof and fashionable finish1 forsooth6--is for the public to admire4 ,they are not to have any intimation what sort of a home is sheltered by your monstrous ,mansard2 and it never occurs to you that there can be anything out of doors worth building your house to see4 ,illustration3 ,,look ,,out1 ,,not ,,in4 ,here is another unhappy result of evil examples1--the sliding-doors between the two parlors1 as you call them1--an arrangement convenient enough1 sometimes indispensable in houses built on crowded streets1 houses that only breathe the dusty air and catch the struggling sunbeams at their narrow and remote extremities1--air and sunlight at nobody knows how many hundred dollars the front foot4 ,they are worse than useless in such a house as yours4 ,i say your plan is scarcely a beginning2 the same of this letter4 ,but it's enough for once4 ,,letter ,,xxiv4 ,from ,fred4 ,,in ,a ,,multitude ,,of ,,counsellors ,,is ,,safety4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,your criticisms are not wholly without reason4 ,i can only plead haste and inexperience4 ,have been studying arrangement of rear part1 and seem to get farther and farther from a satisfactory result4 ,the kitchen and dining-room must be convenient to each other1 but not adjacent2 the pantries and larder easy to get at2 back stairs accessible from all parts of the house1 and side entrance worked in somehow2 washbowl and water-closet not far off1 but out of sight1 and the whole department quite isolated from front hall4 ,my wife can't think of pantry and store-rooms at the south side1 nor do we want kitchen or outer door at the north4 ,john's sister-in-law1 ,miss ,jane1 who appears to have some sensible notions1 thinks a kitchen should always have windows on opposite sides for light and ventilation4 ,john says ,i should have a kitchen large enough for wash-trays and a set kettle1 but one of my neighbors1 who has just built a house1 advises a laundry in the cellar4 ,altogether it's a troublesome problem1 and1 frankly1 ,i give it up4 ,do you really expect us to dispense with sliding-doors between the parlors8 ,i'm sure that won't pass4 ,we would almost as soon give up the bay-windows1--everybody has them nowadays4 ,truly1 ,fred4 ,,letter ,,xxv4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,doors ,,and ,,sliding-,,doors1 ,,windows ,,and ,,bay-,,windows4 ,,dear ,,fred3 ,everybody has them6 ,what a monstrous load of iniquity and nonsense that scape-goat has to carry6 ,everybody wears tight boots and bustles and chignons and stove-pipe hats4 ,everybody smokes and brags1 and cheats in trade1 not to mention a host of other abominations that can give only this excuse for their being3 they are common to a few millions of people who have not learned to declare a reason for the faith that is in them or the works that grow out of them4 ,let us take time to consider this sliding-door question1--folding-doors they used to be1 and1 truly1 ,i'm not sure that the rollers are any improvement on the hinges1--there is something dreadfully barny about sliding-doors4 ,why do you want either8 ,you have one room which you call the parlor1 supposed to be the best in the house1 as to its location1 its finish1 its furniture1 and its use4 ,three of its walls are handsomely frescoed1 curtained1 and decorated with pictures or other ornaments2 the fourth is one huge barricade of panel-work4 ,when the two parts are closed you have a constant fancy of rheumatic currents stealing through the cracks1 and an ever-present fear lest they should suddenly fly open with impetuous recoil1 grating harsh thunder on their wheels1 and not exactly letting ,satan in1 but everything in the room fall out2 an idle fear1 for they can only be shoved asunder by dint of much pushing and pulling1 especially if they are warped by having one side exposed to more heat than the other1 as usually happens4 ,being at last opened by hook or crook1 another room is revealed1 commonly smaller1 more shabby in appearance1 a sort of poor-relation attachment1 spoiling the completeness and artistic unity of the larger one4 ,by care you may avoid something of this2 if you follow the fashion1 you will have the most of it4 ,when the two rooms are twins1 alike in every respect1 they are really one large room1 fitted up1 for economical reasons1 with a movable screen in the centre1 by means of which you may warm 7excepting rheumatic currents as above7 and use one half at a time4 ,but call things by their right names4 ,don't talk grandly about your two parlors when you mean two halves of one4 ,have wide doors1 by all means1 not only between rooms but into main hall1--four1 six1 or eight feet1 if the rooms are so wide and high that they shall not be disproportionately large4 ,then1 if you must have the whole broadside of sliding or folding doors1 let the two rooms thus connected be of different styles but equal richness1--different1 that they shall not seem one room cut in two1--peers1 that one shall not shame and cheapen the other4 ,doors are a great bother1 at best4 ,i wish they could be abolished4 ,they are always slamming1 punching holes in the plastering with their knobs1 creaking on their hinges1 bruising the piano1 pinching babies' fingers1 and making old folks see stars when they get up in the night to look for burglars4 ,heavy curtains are infinitely more graceful1 equally warm1 and not half so stubbornly unmanageable4 ,then think of entering a room4 ,by her steps the goddess is revealed2 but who can walk like a goddess while forcing an entrance between two sliding-doors1 maybe wedging fast half-way through8 ,how different from passing in quiet dignity beneath the rich folds of overhanging drapery6 ,but ,i suppose we must leave all that to the ,orientals1 at present4 ,you would almost as soon give up the bay-windows6 ,well1 you might e'en do worse than that4 ,now let your indignation boil4 ,bay-windows are very charming things sometimes2 sometimes they are nuisances4 ,some have been so appropriate and altogether lovely that any pepper box contrivance thrusting itself out from the main walls and looking three ways for ,sunday is supposed to be a bower of beauty1 a perfect pharos of observation1 an abundant recompense for unmitigated ugliness and inconvenience in the rest of the building4 ,truly1 a well-ordered bay-window will often change a gloomy1 graceless room into a cheerful and artistic one1 but large1 simple windows are sometimes rather to be chosen than too much bay4 ,in many1 perhaps the majority1 of cases1 it is wiser to extend the whole wall of the room in the form of a half-hexagon or three sides of an octagon1 costing no more1 and repaying the cost far more abundantly4 ,while on the subject let us finish it4 ,if you indulge in a regular bay-window1 make it large enough to be of real use2 don't feel constrained to build it with more than fifteen sides2 remember that two stories will not cost twice as much as one1 while the second is pretty certain to be the pleasanter2 don't carry the ceiling of the main room level and unbroken into the bay1 or1 because a certain one you may have seen looks well in its place1 resolve to have another just like it1 regardless of its surroundings4 ,i sometimes fancy there must be a factory where bay-windows are made for the wholesale trade1 all of one style1 strictly orthodox1 five-sided1 bracketed1 blinded1 painted with striped paint1 and ready to barnacle on wherever required4 ,in the stereotyped pattern the blinds are apt to be troublesome4 ,if outside1 they clash against each other and refuse to be fastened open2 while inside they are a mighty maze of folds1 flaps1 brass buts1 and rolling slats4 ,in the first case1 wide piers between the sash are necessary2 in the second1 boxings for the blinds4 ,both require ample room1 which1 fortunately1 you have4 ,sixthly1 and in conclusion1 there is no one feature which may be more charming1 combining so much of comfort and beauty1 as windows of this class1 from the simple opening1 pushed forward a few inches beyond the wall face1 to the broad extension of the entire room2 but there be bays and bays4 ,speaking of blinds1--what shall be done with the other windows8 ,you will protest against concealing your elegant1 single panes of plate-glass by outside blinds1--it won't answer to hide your light under a bushel in that way1--and yet while there is no complete finish without well-arranged inside shutters1 they alone are sadly inefficient in rooms with a southern exposure1 where light and air are needed4 ,they may be fitted with boxings1 into which they are folded1 or arranged to slide into the wall4 ,i like the old-fashioned boxing1 window-seat and all1 also the ancient close-panelled shutters4 ,true they make a room pitch-dark when closed1 and it is doubtless wisest to have some of their central folds made with movable slats1 but they give a charming sense of security and seclusion when the wintry blasts roar around our castle4 ,on the other hand1 the light outside blinds1 that shake and rattle and bang when the stormy winds do blow1 do blow1 are a fair substitute for the cooling shade of forest-trees4 ,you may have learned that life is a succession of compromises4 ,building in ,new ,england certainly is4 ,no sooner do we get nicely fortified with furnaces1 storm-porches1 double windows1 and forty tons of anthracite1 than ,june bursts upon us with ninety degrees in the shade4 ,then how we despise our contrivances for keeping warm1 and bless the ice-man6 ,we wish the house was all piazza1 and if it were not for burglars and mosquitoes1 would abjure walls and roof and live in the open air4 ,just here is our dilemma4 ,we go from ,greenland's icy mountains to ,india's coral strands and back again every twelve months1 whether we will or no1 and are obliged to live in the same house through it all4 ,it's really a desperate matter4 ,i've been to the ant and the beasts and the birds4 ,they recommend hibernating or migration1 but our wings are too short for the one1 our fur too thin for the other6 ,seriously1 you must not forget to prepare for extremes of climate4 ,fortunately the walls that most thoroughly resist the cold are effective against the heat4 ,the doors and windows--the living1 breathing1 seeing1 working part of the house--demand the twofold provision4 ,you must have double windows in winter1 to be taken off 7laid away and more or less smashed up7 in summer2 outside blinds to ward off the summer sun1 which may1 in their turn1 be removed when we are only too glad to welcome all the sunshine there is4 ,the vestibules--portable storm-porches are not to be tolerated--must also be skilful doorkeepers1 proof against hostile storms1 but freely admitting the wandering zephyrs4 ,piazzas are not so easily managed4 ,we like them broad and endless in ,july and ,august1 but the shadows they cast we would fain remove when the very trees fold away their sunshades4 ,often a platform1 terrace1 balcony1--whatever you please to call it1 practically a piazza without a roof1--is the best thing to have1 for this will not keep the sun from the windows1 when comfort requires it may be shaded by a movable awning1 and by its sunny cheerfulness it will lengthen our out-door enjoyment two or three months in the year4 ,you are still floundering helplessly in the kitchen4 ,i've no doubt ,sister ,jane has excellent ideas on the subject1--probably knows ten times as much about it as you do4 ,why not ask her to arrange matters for you8 ,,letter ,,xxvi4 ,from ,fred4 ,,experience ,,keeps ,a ,,dear ,,school4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,we will let the sliding-doors slide1 but hold on to the bay-windows4 ,i've acted upon your suggestion1 and called on ,miss ,jane to help me through the kitchen4 ,she is studying the matter and will report to you soon4 ,meantime1 will you give directions about other inside work8 ,i want it to be ornamental and modern in style4 ,shall finish mostly in hard wood1--oak1 walnut1 or chestnut1 perhaps mahogany and maple4 ,please give me your opinion on that point4 ,what do you think of graining where hard wood is not used8 ,shall probably carpet throughout1 and hope you will not change dimensions of rooms to spoil the fit of them4 ,what about wainscoting halls or any of the rooms8 ,suppose common floors will answer1 and common plastering for the walls1 if ,i paper2 but shall ,i1--or do you recommend frescoing2 and what do you say to cornices and other stucco-work8 ,i've no time to go over all the points in your last4 ,some of them seem well put1 others a little wild4 ,but ,i give them a fair hearing and suppose you won't insist upon my adopting them4 ,am beginning to think ,i've a good deal to learn1 and ought1 ,i suppose1 to be well satisfied to learn1 in some other school than that of experience4 ,truly1 ,,fred4 ,,letter ,,xxvii4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,fashion ,,and ,,ornament1 ,,hard ,,wood ,,and ,,paint4 ,,dear ,,fred3 ,the tone of your last1 just received1 is hopeful4 ,conviction of ignorance is the only foundation on which ,wisdom1 or any other man1 ever builded a house4 ,but it must be a genuine agony1 as ,i'm sure it is in your case2 so you are forgiven for asking more questions in half a dozen lines than ,i can answer fully in a score of pages4 ,instead of taking them up separately1 ,i might give you a chapter of first principles1 hoping you would then need no special directions2 but ,i find the value of most general observations lies1 like ,bunsby's1 in the application of 'em4 ,it's not enough to say1 ,be honest and upright4 ,each particular falsehood and folly must be summoned1 tried1 and condemned4 ,you ask for a style of finish that must be ornamental and modern4 ,but ,i don't understand your meaning2 shall need more definite instruction4 ,is your house intended for ornamental purposes1 as summer-houses1 dove-cots1 bird-cages1 and the like1 often are8 ,is it to be a museum1 art-gallery1 or memorial hall8 ,diamonds and pearls are commonly thought ornamental to those who can afford them2 from pink plaster images and china vases to bronze dragons and ,florentine mosaics1 there is an endless variety of ornaments for domestic apartments4 ,i've heard of a woman who was an ornament to her husband1 and of a man who ornamented a whole town2 but when you ask me to furnish you an ornamental style of finishing your house1 ,i'm obliged to ask for particulars4 ,you may have curious carvings in the woodwork about the doors and windows and on the base-boards2 paint pictures1 or set bright-colored tile1 grotesque and classic1 on the flat surfaces2 cut a row of scallops and points around the edge of the casings in imitation of clam-shells1 as ,i have sometimes seen2 or you may build over your doors and windows enormous ,grecian cornices supported by huge carved consoles1--regular shelves1 too high for any earthly use except to remind you1 by their vast store of dust1 of your mortal origin and destiny4 ,i hold it to be the duty of the amiable architect to carry out the wishes of his employer as far as consistent with his own peace of mind2 and if you insist on having a row of brass buttons around all your casings1 and setting your own tin-type1 life-size1 at every corner1 ,i shall acquiesce2 but my sober advice is that the interior work be simple and unobtrusive4 ,the most perfect style in dress or manner is that which attracts the least attention2 so the essential finish should not1 by its elaborate design1 challenge notice and thus detract from the furnishing and true ornamentation of the room4 ,avoid fine1 unintelligible mouldings1 needless crooks and quirks1 and be not afraid of a flat surface terminating in a plain bead or quarter round4 ,stairways and mantels are not strictly a part of the essential structure1 and may be treated more liberally4 ,the doors1 too1 should be of richer design than the frames in which they are hung2 while on the sideboard1 bookcase1 or other stationary furniture you may1 figuratively speaking1 spread yourself1 always provided you do not make1 in the operation1 a greater display of ignorance than of sense4 ,rich woodwork throughout1 carved panels upon the walls1 inlaid floors1 and elaborate ceilings1 each separate detail a work of art1 intrinsically beautiful apart from its constructive use1 would require a corresponding treatment in the setting of the doors and windows2 but the most of what is commonly considered ornamental work1 in such cases1 is wholly incongruous with walls and ceilings of lath and plaster and floors of cheap boards4 ,i know you will paste mouldy paper to the walls and spread dirty carpets on the floors 7beg your pardon1 ,i mean the paper will be mouldy before you know it1 and if you ever saw a wool carpet that had been used a month without being1 like ,phoebe's blackberries1 all mixed with sand and dirt1 your observation has been different from mine72 perhaps run stucco cornices around the top of walls1 and criss-cross the ceilings into a perfect flower-garden of parallelograms with round corners4 ,but the inharmony remains all the same4 ,any great outlay of labor or material on the casings of doors and windows or the bases1 when there is no other woodwork in the room1 is surely out of place4 ,these are my sentiments1 in general1 upon the ornamental2 of the merely fashionable you already know my opinion4 ,not that this most fitful dame has no rights that deserve respect1 but her feeble light is a black spot in the radiance of real fine art4 ,when you can give no other reason for liking what you like than that ,mistress ,fashion approves1 beware6 beware6--trust her not4 ,the time will come when you will wish even the modest handmaiden ,economy had blessed it4 ,and if a thing is really beautiful1 what difference whether it was introduced by ,mrs4 ,shoddy last spring1 or by ,mrs4 ,noah1 before her husband launched his fairy boat8 ,nor is fine art unattainable1 even in the door-casings4 ,it does not imply fine work4 ,the size1 shape1 and position of the doors and windows1 and the relative proportions of the work about them1 is the first thing to be studied4 ,then have a care that such mouldings as may be needed are graceful1 and you cannot go far wrong4 ,you propose to finish with hard wood1 and ask my opinion4 ,it depends3 if it's the hardness you want1 should recommend lignum-vitae and ebony2 if the wood1 economy would suggest that white-pine1 and certain other softer sorts1 be not overlooked4 ,to answer according to the spirit of your inquiry1 ,i should say1 by all means 7if you do not mind the cost7 use wood instead of putty4 ,with all respect for white paint and striped paint and all other kinds of paint1 there is nothing more enduringly satisfying than the natural tint and grain of the different kinds of wood suitable for building1 of which we have such great variety in style and color1 from the overestimated black walnut1 to the rarely used white-pine1--rarely used without having its natural beauty extinguished by three coats of paint4 ,what ,i wish to say is1 that finishing your woodwork without paint does not1 necessarily1 require the said wood to be of the kinds commonly called hard4 ,any wood that is not specially disposed to warp1 and that can be smoothly wrought1 may be used4 ,those you mention are all good2 so are half a dozen more1--the different kinds of ash1 yellow-pine1 butternut1 white-wood1 cherry1 cedar1 even hemlock and spruce in some situations4 ,there are several important points to be religiously observed if you leave the wood1 whatever the variety1 in its unadorned beauty4 ,it must be the best of its kind2 it must be seasoned to its inmost fibre2 it must be wrought skilfully1 tenderly cared for1 and1 finally1 filled and rubbed till it wears a surface that is not liable to soil1 is easily cleaned1 resists the action of moisture1 and will grow richer with age4 ,hence1 ,i say1 by all means finish with unpainted wood1 if you are not afraid of the expense1 and yet paint and varnish are good1 and putty1 like charity1 covereth a multitude of sins4 ,nothing protects wood better than oil and lead1 and by means of them you have unlimited choice of colors1 in the selection and arrangement of which there is room and need for genuine artistic taste4 ,yes2 good honest paint is worthy the utmost respect4 ,when it tries to improve upon nature's divine methods and calls itself graining1 it becomes unmitigated nonsense1--yes1 and worse4 ,it is one of the sure evidences of man's innate perversity that he persists in trying to copy certain beautiful lines and shadings in wood1 not as an art study1 but for actual use1 when he may just as well have the perfect original as his own faulty imitation4 ,what conceit1 what blindness1 what impudence1 this reveals6 ,what downright falsehood6 ,not in the painter1--,o1 no1 skill is commendable even when unworthily employed1--but in him who orders it4 ,you may buy a pine door1 which is very well2 pine doors are good2 you tell every man that comes into your house it's black-walnut or oak or mahogany4 ,if that isn't greeting him with lying lips and a deceitful heart1 the moral law isn't as clear as it ought to be4 ,you may think it's of no consequence1 certainly not worth making a fuss about1 but ,i tell you this spirit of sham that pervades our whole social structure1 that more and more obtrudes itself in every department of life1 comes from the bottomless pit1 and will carry us all thither1 unless we resist it1 even in these milder manifestations1 as we would resist the ,father of ,lies himself4 ,truth and falsehood are getting so hopelessly confused that we can scarcely distinguish one from the other4 ,one other suggestion in this connection4 ,without either painting or graining you may get a most satisfactory effect1 both in looks and utility1 by staining the less costly kinds of woods2 using a transparent stain that will not conceal but strengthen the natural shading1 and at the same time change its tint according to your fancy4 ,this is an honest and economical expedient4 ,it only requires that your lumber shall be sound1 tolerably clear1--a good hard knot isn't alarming1--seasoned1 and put up with care4 ,the cost is less than common painting1 and the effect as much better than graining as nature's work is more perfect than ours4 ,don't ask me any more questions till ,i've disposed of these already on hand4 ,,letter ,,xxviii4 ,from ,fred4 ,,thought ,,provokes ,,inquiry4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,in spite of your prohibition1 ,i must pursue one or two of the inquiries already raised1 in order to understand the answers given4 ,what is the objection to cheap floors1 if they are always covered with carpets8 ,am ,i to understand that you do not approve of lath and plaster for walls and ceilings of first-class dwellings8 ,if so1 what would you substitute8 ,it seems much easier to say what to avoid than what to accept2 but that1 ,i believe1 is the privilege of critics and reformers4 ,why do you despise the modern fashions so heartily8 ,are the old any better8 ,yours1 ,,fred4 ,,letter ,,xxix4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,consistency1 ,,comfort1 ,,and ,,carpets4 ,,my ,,dear ,,fred3 ,i don't despise the new fashions4 ,i admire them--when they are good4 ,will you please try to understand that a thing of beauty is a joy forever8 ,whatever is born of truth1 whether in art or religion1 belongs to eternity2 it never goes out of fashion4 ,will you also remember that modern styles1 modes1 fashions1 inventions1--call them what you will1--are the mere average product of human thought and labor during a few years2 the old that abides is drawn from the superlatively good of former countless generations1 culled over and over again till that alone remains which has stood the test of your critics and reformers all along down from ,adam1 or up from the last monkey who wept to find his first-born without a tail and morally accountable4 ,certainly it is easier to say what to avoid than what to accept1 for there's more of it4 ,broad is the road of error1 and the faults and follies1 vices and sins1 that wrangle and riot therein1 are thicker than crickets on a sandy road in ,october1--thicker and blacker4 ,you may catch them all day and there'll be just as many left4 ,but the devoted followers of truth you may count on your fingers and carry them home in your bosom4 ,besides1 the right thing to do cannot be told in detail for another1 since every man must manifest his own individuality as he must work out his own salvation4 ,in the millennium ,i expect we shall find no two houses built or furnished alike4 ,no2 you are not to understand that lath and plaster are unfit for first-class dwellings1 but there is no sense in trimming a gingham suit with point lace4 ,a general uniformity of value in the material of which your castle is built is as essential as uniformity of style4 ,yes2 there is an objection to cheap floors1 carpets or not2 and now ,i've gone through your last lot of interrogation-points backward1 which brings me where ,i left off in the former letter4 ,you propose to carpet the floors and ask to have them made to fit the carpets4 ,would you also like the walls to fit the paper-hangings1 and the windows the curtains8 ,do you know what kind of carpets you will use in each room2 just how long and how wide they will be to half an inch2 the width of the borders2 how much they will stretch in putting down2 how much take up in the making 7you see ,i can use interrogation-points78 ,do you really know anything about them with certainty8 ,i ask for information1 as the same request is often made as to building the house to fit the carpets1 and any attempt to comply with it seems to me a great waste of mathematics4 ,concerning1 the floors themselves1--leaving the yardstick out of the question1--even if they are covered by carpets six inches thick1 it will not pay to lay poor ones4 ,they should be double for solidity and warmth1 well nailed for stiffness1 seasoned for economy1 and of good lumber for conscience' sake4 ,seasoned for economy1 ,i say1 since nothing is more destructive to carpets1 especially to oil-cloth1 than cracks in the floor underneath them4 ,yes1--one thing2 the warped edges of the boards1 that sometimes raise themselves1--that are almost sure to do so in spruce1 which is never fit for floors1 though often used4 ,it's my conviction that spruce floor-boards1 two inches thick and one and a half wide1 would contrive to curl up at the edges4 ,if you have good floors1 furthermore1 you will not feel obliged to cover them at all times and at all hazards4 ,i remarked that the houses built when the good time coming comes will not be all alike4 ,i can tell you another thing about them1 though you may not believe it2 there will be no wool carpets on the floors1--no1 nor rag ones either4 ,the people will walk upon planks of fir and boards of cedar1 sycamore from the plains and algum-trees1 gopher wood and ,georgia pine1 inlaid in forms of wondrous grace4 ,there will be no moth or dust to corrupt and strangle1 neither creaks nor cracks to annoy4 ,it's a question among theologians whether the millennium will come all at once and all o'er1 or gradually4 ,i think the millennial floors must be introduced gradually1--say around the edges1--for ,i do not suppose you or any one else in ,new ,england will give up the warm-feeling carpets altogether4 ,and yet one who has seen a carpet of any sort taken and well shaken1 after a six months' service1 will hardly expect added health or comfort from its ministration4 ,if your observation of this semiannual performance isn't sufficient1 and you are curious to know how much noisome dirt and dust1 how much woolly fibre and microscopic animal life1 you respire1--how these poisonous particles fill your lungs with tubercles1 your head with catarrh1 and prepare your whole body for an untimely grave1--you can study medical books at your leisure4 ,they will all tell the same story1 and will justify my supposition that you will cover the floors with dirty carpets4 ,doubtless they will be shaken and whipped 7they deserve it7 two or three times a year1 and swept1 maybe1 every day4 ,the shaking is very well1 but though it seems neater to sweep them1 yet for actual cleanliness of the whole room1 carpet and all1 ,i suppose it would be better at the end of six months if they were swept--not once6 ,for whatever can be removed from a carpet by ordinary sweeping is comparatively clean and harmless1--that which sinks out of sight and remains is unclean and poisonous4 ,illustration3 ,,dust ,,to ,,dust4 ,there are two ways of lessening the evil without exterminating the cause4 ,one is to shut the room1 never using or opening it1 except for the spring and fall cleaning2 the other is to lay the carpet in such way that it may be taken up and relaid without demoralizing the entire household4 ,talk about the carpets fitting the rooms2 there should be a margin of two feet--a few inches1 more or less1 is unimportant--at each side4 ,then if you have a handsome floor1 the carpet becomes a large rug--no matter how elegant--that may be removed1 cleansed1 and put back again every morning if you like4 ,you may fancy a border of wood either plain or ornamental1 the surface of which shall be level with the top of the carpet4 ,this is easily made1 either by using thicker boards around the edges or by laying wood carpeting over the regular floor4 ,one caution concerning fancy floors2 don't make them too fanciful4 ,we don't like to feel that we're treading under foot a rare work of art1 and ,i've seen certain zigzag patterns which merely to look at fairly makes one stagger4 ,thresholds are on the floor1 but not of them1 nor of anything else1 for that matter1 and though somewhat useful in poetry1 are often provoking stumbling-blocks in practice4 ,necessary at times1 doubtless1 but we have far too many and too much of them4 ,even where rooms are carpeted differently they are not needed4 ,if you must have them1 let them lie low and keep dark4 ,illustration3 ,,wool ,,and ,,wood4 ,if you paint or paper the walls1 as you will if they are plastered1 keep this in mind3 the trowel finishes them as far as use is concerned4 ,whatever is added is purely in the nature of ornament1 and must be tried by the laws of decoration4 ,if you enjoy seeing a parrot1 a poppy1 and a shepherdess1 bunches of blue roses1 and impossible landscapes1 spotted1 at regular intervals1 over the inner walls of the rooms1 you will choose some large-figured paper4 ,perhaps1 if the pattern is sufficiently distinct and gorgeous1 you will think you need no other pictures2 and the pictures themselves will be glad to be left out if they have any self-respect4 ,i'm sure you don't enjoy any such thing4 ,some of the fancy paper-hangings are artistic and beautiful in design2 for that very reason they ought not to be repeated4 ,i would as soon hang up a few dozens of religious-newspaper prize-chromos4 ,the general effect is the point to be considered4 ,why not have both8 ,because you can't4 ,when you have a picture so pretty and complete as to attract your attention and fix itself in your memory1 the general effect is lost if you discover the same thing staring at you whichever way you turn4 ',t is the easiest thing in the world to have too much of a good thing4 ,sometimes the better the thing the worse the repetition4 ,this general effect which we must have is well secured by a small1 inconspicuous figure1 or by those vine-like patterns1 so delicate and wandering that you don't attempt to follow them4 ,better than either are the plain tints1 which give you1 in fact1 all you require2 a modification of the cold white wall1 and the most effective background for pictures and other furnishing4 ,as much ornament as you please in the border at the top1 and at the bottom1 too1 if the rooms are high enough4 ,all horizontal lines and subdivisions reduce the apparent height of the room4 ,indeed1 you may use trimming without limit1 either of paper or paint1 wood and gilt moldings1 provided they are well used4 ,color1 after all1 is the main thing4 ,if there is any good reason for putting this upon paper and then sticking the paper to the wall1 ,i've not learned it4 ,it is cheaper1 cleaner1 and better to apply it directly to the plastering1 either in oil or water-colors4 ,oil is the best2 water the cheapest4 ,in any case1 the best quality of plastering is none too good4 ,for the papering it may be left smooth1 but for painting1 especially with distemper1 the rough coarse-grained surface is very much the best4 ,the chief objection to stucco arises from its being a cheap material1 easily wrought4 ,it is so often introduced as if quantity would compensate for quality1--a common error in other things than stucco4 ,though often desirable and appropriate1 as a general rule the more the worse4 ,no amount of gilding will give it anything but a frail1 often tawdry appearance1 that does not improve1 but deteriorates1 with age4 ,illustration3 ,,woodwork ,,on ,,plastered ,,walls ,wainscoting is always in order2 it is a question of harmony1 when and where to use it4 ,what you have in mind is really an extended and ornamented base4 ,of course1 it enriches the room1 but it begins a work to which there is no limit4 ,it should be supplemented by a corresponding wood cornice at the top of the room1 and between the two as much decorative woodwork as you can afford2 until the walls of the house within1 the floor of the house1 and the walls of the ceilings are carved with cherubims and palm-trees and open flowers4 ,a costly wainscot at the base of the walls1 with paper and stucco above1 seems to me a great lack of harmony4 ,i would spread my richness more evenly4 ,in using different kinds of wood1 the raised portions1 being more exposed1 may be of hard varieties1 the sunken portions of softer materials1 even lath and plaster1 which may be frescoed1 covered with some rich colored plain paper1 or hung with violet velvet1 according to your taste and means4 ,the old-fashioned chair-rail seems to me a sensible institution ,it occupies the debatable ground between use and beauty1 and may therefore be somewhat enriched4 ,the plastering beneath it may be given a different tint from that above1 and when the walls are high its effect is good4 ,it is really carrying out the idea of panelling1 to which there is hardly a limit in the way of variety4 ,some of your questions have led me a little way from the building toward the furnishing1 but ,i've tried to dispose of them categorically1 and am now ready for another lot4 ,,letter ,,xxx4 ,from ,miss ,jane4 ,,autobiography ,,and ,,architecture1 ,,potatoes ,,and ,,postscripts4 ,,mr4 ,,architect3 ,dear ,sir1--,after so long an indirect acquaintance through our mutual friends1 it is quite time we were formally introduced4 ,allow me to present myself3 ,sister ,jane1 spinster2 native of ,new ,england1 born to idleness1 bred to school-teaching2 age not reported1 temperament hopeful1 abilities average2 possessor of a moderate competence1 partly acquired1 mainly inherited2 greatly overestimated by a friendly few1 somewhat abused as peculiar 7in ,american idiom funny7 by strangers2 especially interested in the building of homes1 and quite willing to help ,mr4 ,fred carry out his ambitions in that direction by any suggestions ,i am able to make4 ,illustration3 ,,sister ,,jane1 ,,spinster4 ,i've taught school1 and ,i've taught music2 sold goods in a store and worked in a factory2 run a sewing-machine1 travelled with subscription-books1 and hired out to do house-work2 and ,i solemnly aver that the only time ,i was conscious of genuine enthusiasm for my work1 or felt that ,i was doing myself or others any actual good1 was while keeping house4 ,in school ,i was required to teach things ,i knew little and cared less about1 and to punish the dear children for doing precisely what ,i would have done myself had ,i been in their places1 losing all the while in amiability more than was gained in mental discipline4 ,my experience in a factory was limited to three months4 ,from working with the machines and as they worked1 hardly using more intelligent volition than they1 ,i began to fancy myself becoming like them1 with no more rights to be respected1 no more moral responsibility1 and left without even serving my notice4 ,clerking ,i tried just for fun4 ,if all people who came to trade were like some1 it would be the pleasantest1 easiest work imaginable2 if all were like others1 the veriest torment4 ,it was an excellent place to study human nature1 but made me somewhat cynical4 ,my sewing-machine had fits and gave me a back-ache1 so ,i've locked it up until some one invents a motive-power that can be applied to house-work1 washing1 churning1 mincing meat and vegetables1 driving sewing-machines1 and--if it only could--kneading bread1 sweeping floors1 washing dishes1 ironing clothes1 and making beds4 ,my book agency was undertaken for the sake of travel1--of learning something1 not only of the land we live in1 but of its people and homes4 ,if ,i had gone from house to house and with malice aforethought begged an outright gift of a sum equal to my commission on each book1 ,i should have felt more self-approval than in asking people to buy what ,i had not the slightest reason to suppose they wanted4 ,now ,i'm sure you are beginning to think me one of the disagreeably strong-minded1 who think the whole world has gone astray when it's only themselves who are out of tune1 but1 truly1 ,i'm not2 only ,i don't like to be or to feel idle and useless1 nor yet to be constantly striving to do from a sense of duty what is positively distasteful4 ,like many other important discoveries1 my aptness for house-work was found out by accident4 ,our next neighbor happened to be thrown1 without a word of warning1 into one of those dreadful whirlpools in regard to help1 to which even the best regulated households are liable4 ,my services1 charitably volunteered as temporary relief1 were gladly accepted1 and the result on my part was two years of pleasant and profitable labor4 ,all ,i earned was clear profit1 and ,i had the satisfaction of knowing ,i saved the family many times over what was paid me4 ,i'm converted beyond the possibility of backsliding to this truth3 that there is no work so fit and pleasant1 so profitable and improving1 to the mass of womankind1--rich or poor1 wise or unlearned1 strong or weak1--yes1 proud or meek1--as the care and control of a home2 none so worthy of thorough study1 none so full of opportunity for exercising all the better bodily and mental powers1 from mere mechanical and muscular skill1 up through philosophy and science1 mathematics and invention1 to poetry and fine art4 ,from potato-washing to architectural design the distance is great1 yet there are possible steps1 and easy ones too1 leading from one to the other4 ,i began with the potatoes and know all their tricks and their manners4 ,the accompanying sketch is the nearest approach to architecture yet attained4 ,a long way off1 you will say2 but ,i insist it is worthier of recognition than the plans of amateurs who begin with the parlor and leave the kitchen out in the cold4 ,it is not for ,mr4 ,fred2 he must work out his own kitchen4 ,if ,mrs4 ,fred can't help him1 more's the pity4 ,i give my notions of general principles2 the application of them ,i leave to you4 ,my kitchen is not merely a cook-room1 nor yet the assembly and business room of the entire household1 as in the olden time4 ,it is the housekeeper's head-quarters1 the mill to which all domestic grists are brought to be ground1--ground but not consumed4 ,i should never learn to be heartily grateful for my daily bread if it must always be eaten with the baking-pans at my elbow4 ,indeed1 we seldom enjoy to the utmost any good thing if the process of its manufacture has been carried on before our eyes4 ,hence the dining-room is a necessity1 but it must be near at hand4 ,if the kitchen cannot go to it1 it must come to the kitchen4 ,if this goes to the basement1 or to the attic1 that must follow1 but always with impassable barriers between1 protecting each one of our five senses4 ,the confusion usually attending the dinner-hour should be out of sight2 the hissing of buttered pans and the sound of rattling dishes we do not wish to hear2 our sharpened appetites must not be dulled by spicy aromas that seem to settle on our tongues2 we do not like1 in summer weather1 to be broiled in the same heat that roasts our beef2 while1 as for scents1 wrath is cruel and anger is outrageous1 but who is able to stand the smell of boiling cabbage8 ,yes2 the kitchen must be separated from the dining-room1 and the more perfect its appointments1 the easier is this separation4 ,the library and the sitting-room are completely divided by a mere curtain1 because each is quiet and well disposed1 not inclined to assert its own rights or invade those of others2 but the ordinary kitchen1 like ill-bred people1 is constantly doing both4 ,thomas ,beecher proposes to locate his at the top of the church steeple4 ,that is unnecessary2 we have only to elevate it morally and intellectually1 make it orderly1 scientific1 philosophical1 and the front parlor itself cannot ask a more amiable and interesting neighbor4 ,as the chief workshop of the house1 the kitchen should be fitted up and furnished precisely as an intelligent manufacturer would fit up his factory4 ,every possible convenience for doing what must be done2 a machine for each kind of work and a place for every machine4 ,provision for the removal and utilizing of all waste1 for economizing to the utmost all labor and material4 ,then if our housekeepers will go to school in earnest1--will learn their most complicated and responsible profession half as thoroughly as a mechanic learns a single and comparatively simple trade1--we shall have a domestic reformation that will bring back something of the ,eden we have lost4 ,respectfully yours1 ,,sister ,,jane4 99 99 99 99 99 ,p4,s4--,surreptitiously enclosed by ,mrs4 ,john4 ,,dear ,,mr4 ,,architect3 ,jane has just read her letter to you aloud for ,john's and my benefit4 ,john listened to the end without moving a muscle4 ,when she wound up with the garden of ,eden1 he got up1 took off his hat 7he will keep it on in the house71 made a fearfully low bow and said1 ,perfectly magnificent1 ,jane6 ,i begin to feel like old ,adam1 already4 ,then he burst out laughing and took himself out of the room1 leaving the door wide open1 of course1 and kicking up the corner of the door-mat4 ,you see he's one of those men who think home isn't home-like unless it's sort of free and easy4 ,he'd be perfectly willing to eat and sleep and live in the kitchen1--if ,i had the work to do2 and though he likes pretty things1 and would feel dreadfully if ,i didn't look about so1 has a perfect horror of smart housekeepers1 and thinks women who care for nothing else the most disagreeable people in the world4 ,the trouble with ,jane's letter is that she doesn't go into particulars enough1 and that's why ,i want to add a postscript4 ,i wish ,i could describe the kitchen in the house where she has been living4 ,the people had so much confidence in her judgment1 that they just allowed her to fix things as she chose1 and it's really quite a study4 ,it mightn't suit anybody else1 but it shows what may be done4 ,she began by taking one of the pleasantest rooms in the house1 although 'twas in the basement1 and had windows cut to bring them on the south and east sides4 ,then she had an outside door at the south with a wide piazza over it1 which made the room actually just so much larger4 ,across one side of the room is a wide stationary table1--,i suppose men would call it a work-bench1--with a fall-leaf1 in front of one of the windows1 especially for an ironing-table4 ,of course it can be used for anything else4 ,one part of it is about eight inches lower than the common height1 where ever so many kinds of table-work can be done sitting4 ,underneath the higher part are drawers and places for all the things that are useful about the laundry-work4 ,her sink is in the midst of a perfect cabinet of conveniences4 ,there's a hook or a shelf for every identical rag1 stick1 dish1 or spoon that can be used or thought of2 shelves at each side1 and drawers that never by any possibility will hold what doesn't belong in them4 ,one thing she won't have2 and that's a cupboard under the sink for pots and kettles4 ,she says it's impossible to keep such a place clean and sweet4 ,things are shoved into it sooty and steaming to get them out of the way1 and it soon gets damp and crocky beyond all hope of purification4 ,hot and cold water run to the boilers and kettles1 and there's a funny contrivance for sprinkling clothes4 ,the washing almost does itself4 ,the tubs are of soapstone1 at the opposite side of the room from the ironing-table4 ,over the entire stove--she might have had a range1 but didn't want one--there's a sort of movable cover with a flue running into the chimney that carries off every breath of steam and smoke from the cooking4 ,one would never guess at the dinner by any stray odors4 ,it is made of tin2 the kettles boil quicker under it1 and it makes the room a great deal cooler in summer by carrying the extra heat off up the chimney4 ,she has a place for the bread to rise1 and a cupboard close by for all the ironmongery belonging to the stove1 zinc-cloth and blacking-brush included4 ,illustration3 ,,sister ,,jane',s ,,kitchen4 ,her pantry ,i won't undertake to describe4 ,it adjoins both dining-room and kitchen4 ,john says she never does anything in getting dinner but just sit down in an easy-chair and turn a crank4 ,that's one of ,john's stories1 but she certainly will prepare a meal the quickest and with the fewest steps of any person ,i ever knew4 ,the funniest thing about it is1 that ,i've known eight people at work in the room all at once without being in each other's way one bit4 ,but that's no closer than men work in their shops4 ,jane intends to stay with us this winter1 and ,i expect we shall have jolly times1 for we're going to board the schoolmaster4 ,if he calls to see you1 as ,i think he will1 ,i want you should read ,jane's letter to him4 ,she would take my head off if she knew ,i mentioned it1 but ,i think he ought to know what's before him4 ,respectfully1 ,,mrs4 ,,john4 ,p4,s4 ,no4 #b4--,unnecessarily appended by ,john4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,if we've got to go through the whole establishment on transcendental principles1 ,i shall send in my resignation straight4 ,sister ,jane's a regular trump2 ,penelope and queen of ,sheba rolled into one4 ,but when the women-folks begin to preach1 ,i always find it best to keep still and consider my sins4 ,i haven't had a chance to say much lately1 but ,i've kept up a tremendous thinking1 and when ,i do get the floor look out for me4 ,how do you happen to know so much about the millennium8 ,yours patiently1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,xxxi4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,domestic-,,service ,,reform4 ,dear ,miss ,jane3 ,your very kind letter was received and gratefully appreciated4 ,as the world grows less ignorant and wicked1 we should naturally expect missionaries and reformers to find their occupation going1 if not quite gone2 that modern reforms would be mere play compared with the stern and mighty movements that in former times have blessed mankind and balked the ,evil ,one4 ,but somehow the need for missionary work seems greater every year4 ,we are not even permitted to go to the heathen4 ,they come to us without waiting for an invitation2 if not as pupils in the lessons of civilization1 they come as teachers4 ,sometimes they are aliens1 sometimes our own kith and kin4 ,to keep what we have won and gain the next height requires new zeal1 and ever greater efforts1--requires the very work you are doing2 for a well-ordered home1 though it consist of but two members1 is a tremendous missionary society4 ,the light streaming from its windows is an ever-burning beacon of safety to our most cherished social institutions4 ,first and chiefly1 this essential home work needs to be taken from the hands of indifferent1 careless servants and confided to those who realize the nobleness of the responsibility1 and will strive to meet it faithfully4 ,ultimately1 the ignorant1 careless ones must be taught1 but that will never be till culture is a manifest necessity and finds a fit reward4 ,when a man undertakes the charge of a new business1 he learns1 not only its general principles1 but as far as possible1 its minutest details1 otherwise he fails inevitably1 and the place is given to his well-qualified competitor4 ,if our prospective housekeepers were amenable to similar rules1 the competent mistresses of this most useful art would find plenty of apprentices glad to serve them long and well for their tuition1 and if those who have now the care of households will patiently instruct their help1 they will find abundant recompense in a more faithful and efficient service4 ,doubtless we must wait a little longer for our lost ,eden to be restored by the angels of the household2 but1 in the hastening of that good time1 such examples1 permit me to say1 as your own will be worth far more than any multiplying of conveniences and labor-saving machines for the benefit of those who do not know or care to learn how to use them1--examples of the nobleness1 the gentility if you please1 of all useful labor4 ,until that everlasting truth is understood and applied1 there will be more need of your teaching than of my plans4 ,if you will teach your neighbors what a fully equipped home building should contain1 ,i will try to show them how their wants can be supplied4 ,teach them1 at the same time1 what it need not contain4 ,as certain folks do not understand how heaven can be enjoyable without a ,tartarean attachment to which all disagreeable people and performances are consigned1 so a common notion of home1 that earthly epitome of heaven1 appears to be that it should also contain an abridgment of the same direful institution2 that there must be somewhere in the house a place of torment1 the angels who abide therein1 giving us our daily bread and doughnuts1 being of a totally different type from the glorious creatures singing songs of praise and operatic melodies in the upper stories4 ,that the genius of the kitchen and the parlor can be one and the same is a conception too stupendous for the average understanding4 ,this1 too1 ,i hope you will insist upon4 ,every man who would build himself a house shall first sit down and--not count the cost1 that comes into my department1 but--ask himself solemnly what the house is for4 ,to live in1 of course4 ,but living is a complex affair2 it is constant growth or gradual death2 there can be no standing still4 ,is the house to be an end1 or a means2 a help to make the life-work larger and better1 or an added burden8 ,shall it lift1 or crush him8 ,when this solemn questioning is honestly done1 we shall have a new order of domestic architecture4 ,it may not be classic1 neither ,grecian nor ,roman1 ,gothic nor ,french1 but the best of all that has gone before and the last best thing thrown in4 ,we shall have more cheap houses1 more small ones1 ,i think2 more comfort and less show1 more content and fewer mortgages4 ,,letter ,,xxxii4 ,from ,fred4 ,,go ,,to2 ,,let ,,us ,,build ,a ,,tower4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,i've been hearing a variety of suggestions from ,miss ,jane1 the substance of which she has already forwarded you in a letter4 ,her ideas are excellent4 ,they ought to be adopted in every household4 ,i wish to have them carried out as far as possible in mine1 when the time comes4 ,she favors a basement kitchen1 which ,i had always thought objectionable4 ,if adopted it would change my arrangement considerably4 ,what do you think of it8 ,how high shall ,i have the different stories1 and will you give me some hints for exterior8 ,i intended to have a tower or a cupola1 but after so much change ,i hardly know where ,i am coming out4 ,there is something very imposing about a tower1 and a cupola seems to finish the house handsomely1 besides affording fine views4 ,i feel decidedly partial to ,french roofs1 but have seen some very awkward ones that ,i should be sorry to imitate4 ,they give excellent chambers and have a modern look4 ,the latter point ,i suppose you will not think important4 ,truly1 ,,fred4 ,,letter ,,xxxiii4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,basements ,,and ,,balconies4 ,dear ,fred3 ,of course ,miss ,jane's ideas are good4 ,when a woman honestly tries to understand her work and do it well1 she is sure to succeed1 especially in this matter of the equipments of home4 ,the basement arrangement depends mainly on the location4 ,when this is favorable it is undoubtedly economical1 nor is it necessarily inconvenient or unpleasant in any way1 but quite the reverse4 ,you are fortunate if your site will allow it1 for it adds enormously to the capacity of the establishment4 ,at least two sides of this lower story1 basement you call it1 should be above ground to insure dryness and plenty of light4 ,then all the heavier work of the house1 including the eating and drinking1 can be done on this floor1 leaving the upper stories intact for loftier purposes4 ,the old-fashioned cellar as a storehouse for a half-year's stock of provisions--bins1 and barrels by the dozen1 of potatoes1 apples and cider1 corned beef1 pork1 vegetables1 vinegar1 and apple-sauce--is extinct4 ,hence the space once thus occupied is almost a clear gain if made into finished apartments1--an economy that will commonly allow a family room on the next floor1 whereby the going up and down stairs is no more serious than if both are one story higher4 ,the sketch is an illustration of what the basement adds4 ,the capacity of the little house is more than doubled by it1 while in point of style the augmentation is even greater than in room4 ,illustration3 ,,what ,,the ,,basement ,,adds4 ,as to height of stories1 you are quite as liable to make them too high as too low4 ,for rooms within the common limits of size1 ten to eleven feet in the clear is enough4 ,even nine is by no means dangerous4 ,if too high for their area1 they seem like large closets1 giving a feeling of being walled in1 hardly less unpleasant than the low-hanging ceilings of the last century4 ,i know the argument of better ventilation4 ,but that depends4 ,the old1 seven-foot rooms1 with their huge fireplaces1 big enough to hold a load of wood1 ox-team and all1 undoubtedly held purer air than is found in the hermetically sealed apartments of the present time1 whose ceilings are out of sight4 ,as you say1 a tower is often very imposing4 ,it is not always certain who feels the imposition most heavily1 the man who pays for it or the man who looks at it4 ,they are not only imposing1 but they contain six or seven stories1 one above another1 of eight-foot square rooms1 deducting a ,jacob's-ladder stairway at one side1 whereon people climb to the topmost room for the sake of looking out in the wrong direction through a round dormer-window1 scratching their heads in the mean time on the nails that come through the roof6 ,cupolas too are lovely1--especially on a barn1--and top off a house in the daintiest fashion possible2 just as1 to set forth great things by small1 the knob on the sugar-bowl cover finishes the sugar-bowl4 ,many houses do appear unfinished without a cupola1 and ,i'm sorry for them1 because when the cupola is built it looks so much like the handle on a big cover that ,i half expect some giant to come along and lift it off to take a peep at the curious animals underneath4 ,for1 truly1 they are curious animals1 and build some curious nests4 ,i like1 as well as you1 to get up above my neighbors now and then1 and look down upon them4 ,i never see a tall chimney or church spire without wishing there was a spiral staircase around the outside of it1 from which to view the landscape o'er4 ,in fact1 to be candid1 if ,i had happened to live a few thousand years ago1 ,i am afraid ,i should have taken stock in the ,babel enterprise1 not really expecting to leave this terrestrial ball in that way1 but just to see how high we could go4 ,the audacious tower of the ,centennial ,i shall certainly patronize4 ,but on domestic buildings1 unless for better adaptation to the site1 or for some special use1 there are other things more to be desired than these lofty appendages4 ,an open balcony1 hanging from the highest point of the main roof1 just below the scuttle1 or the flat1 if there is one1 on the top of the whole1 surrounded by a protecting balustrade1 affords a better place for observation and costs less than those laborious affairs whose use and beauty often neutralize each other4 ,illustration3 ,,outlook ,,from ,,the ,,roof4 ,how dare you think anything claiming to be a ,french roof ugly to look at8 ,people who are fond of that style admire them from a sense of duty1 because they are ,french roofs4 ,perhaps if ,i was a ,frenchman ,i should like ,french roofs1 too2 being an ,american1 ,i like ,american roofs better4 ,you do1 however1 give one reason for your preference1--the complete chambers1--which is merely another way of saying you like three stories better than two1--a good argument1 by the way1 for the basement1 which is surely more convenient than an attic4 ,i enclose a sketch1 intimating an outline and style that will suit your location4 ,the roof1 which is not ,french1 either in form or costliness1 will contain all the dormitories and store-rooms you can use1 unless you propose keeping a three-story boarding-house4 ,,letter ,,xxxiv4 ,from the ,schoolmaster4 ,,four ,,rooms ,,enough4 ,,mr4 ,,architect3 ,dear ,sir1--,once1 in conversation with you1 ,i made some inquiries as to the feasibility of building houses1 especially of brick1 with reference to future enlargement4 ,my present ambition is bounded by a house of four rooms4 ,one in which all the household work shall be done1 including the eating4 ,it shall contain the cooking-stove1 the dining-table1 laundry conveniences1 etc41 and may be called kitchen1 dining-room1 laboratory1 or simply work-room4 ,an apartment to be used solely on account of its facilities for doing house-work4 ,it should be of good size1 and a pleasant outlook is desirable1 but not necessary4 ,a second room for ordinary and extraordinary use2 to sit in1 to talk in1 to read and write and visit in2 the books are kept in it1 and the sewing-machine1 the piano and the flower-stand1 the birdcage and the pictures2 a large1 pleasant room1 where the sunlight loves to shine in upon us and we love to look out upon the sunshine4 ,it is parlor1 library1 drawing-room1 living room2 in fact1 it is the house itself1 to which everything else is accessory4 ,a family sleeping-room1 sunny1 simple1 and airy1 and a guest-room of similar character1 complete the establishment4 ,more than these four principal rooms would be a burden1 less would hardly suffice for comfortable living4 ,the problem is to arrange a plan that shall be convenient and complete before it begins to grow1 and to which future additions may be made without serious loss4 ,i also want counsel concerning ventilation1 both on general principles and with reference to the unfortunate box in which ,i am daily compelled to breathe my own breath over and over1 variously flavored with the commingled exhalations of sixty pupils1 with whom ,i grow cross1 restless1 or stupid1 according to the state of the school-room atmosphere4 ,i believe it is just as wicked to allow children to breathe impure air in their school-rooms or their bedrooms as it would be to put poison in their dinner-pails and require them to swallow it4 ,my friend1 ,mrs4 ,john1 takes a kindly interest in my quadruple plan1 and assures me it will be quite sufficient for a sensible housekeeper4 ,do you suppose such a one can be found8 ,if convenient1 ,i will call upon you in a few days4 ,truly yours1 ,,schoolmaster4 ,,letter ,,xxxv4 ,from ,mrs4 ,john4 ,,conveniences ,,and ,,conjectures4 ,dear ,mr4 ,architect3 ,the building-fever seems to be contagious in our neighborhood4 ,the teacher who boards with us is the latest subject4 ,he pretends it's all for fun1 but has been studying plans for weeks1 and now1 after getting the advice of the entire household1 is going to throw it all away and apply to you1 as he should have done in the first place4 ,i overheard him explaining to ,jane how the cooking-stove is to be in a sort of recess by the chimney1 with tin-lined doors to shut it out of sight2 the wash-boiler at the opposite side1 enclosed in the same way1 and having a contrivance overhead to carry off the steam2 how there are to be cupboards at each side of the wide window1 making it a sort of bay1 with a wood-box window-seat2 how the sink is to be converted into an elegant sideboard by an ornamental cover1 and everything else in the room contrived so it can be shut up or folded up out of sight when not in use4 ,of course ,jane assists1 and the combined wisdom of the two is something appalling to ordinary mortals4 ,i should certainly think the affair was getting serious if anything of the kind ever did turn out as other folks think it ought4 ,they are wonderfully harmonious now1 but ,i don't believe ,jane will ever be satisfied without a separate dining-room4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,old1 ,,old ,,story4 ,john wishes me to ask what he shall do about warming his house4 ,says he has not decided whether to have fireplaces or stoves1 grates or a hot-air furnace1 steam1 hot water1 solar heat1 or depend on a scolding wife to keep things warm4 ,yours truly1 ,,mrs4 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,xxxvi4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,the ,,lesson ,,of ,,the ,,ice-,,house4 ,,mrs4 ,,john3 ,dear ,madam1--,without doubt the affair is getting serious1 but do not give yourself any uneasiness as to the issue4 ,the ,divinity that shapes our matrimonial ends is1 happily1 a wiser power than that which designs our houses1 however it may appear to outsiders4 ,your friend talks like a gentleman and a scholar4 ,i admonished him discreetly1 promised to study his interesting problem and give him a chapter on ventilation2 which1 by the way1 is so intimately connected with warming1 that ,i may be obliged to make a sort of company letter in answering your husband's inquiry on that subject4 ,tell him1 in brief1 to use fireplaces if he has a hundred acres of wood-land to clear up2 stoves1 if he can live without air2 grates1 if he doesn't mind the trouble and the ashes2 furnace1 if he can set it directly under each room and can find one that won't strangle him some windy night with poison gases2 and steam or hot water1 if he can run a machine-shop and keep a competent engineer4 ,solar heat may be more available than he thinks1 but his doubt as to the last-named mode proves that he has no experimental knowledge of it4 ,neither have ,i4 ,tell him also to protect his family as carefully as he protects his ice1 and the house-warming will be a simple matter4 ,the conditions are identical1 only turned inside out4 ,in one case the heat is to be kept from penetrating1 in the other from escaping1 and both require the same treatment2 not1 perhaps1 to the extent of stuffing with sawdust1--confined air is just as good1--but the walls and the floors1 the roofs and the windows1 should be made to prevent the escape of heat4 ,he may think ,i underrate his scientific attainments1 but it will do no harm to remind him that an air-tight house may be a very cold one4 ,a man would freeze to death in a glass bottle1 when a coarse1 porous blanket would keep him comfortable4 ,double windows are not to keep cold air out1 but to keep the heat in4 ,india-rubber weather-strips have1 doubtless1 caused ten times as many influenzas as they have prevented4 ,more heat will radiate through a window of single glass than would be carried out by the air through a crack1 half an inch wide1 at the side of it4 ,these suggestions are just to set him a thinking4 ,,letter ,,xxxvii4 ,from ,john4 ,,shingles1 ,,sunshine1 ,,and ,,fresh ,,air4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,when ,i stepped into the background1 ,i didn't propose to be left entirely out in the cold4 ,i've followed ,fred through the most of his gropings after grandeur1 and listened patiently to one of ,jane's dignified essays on the sublimity of housekeeping2 but when my wife begins romancing1 and the schoolmaster is allowed to run wild1 as though his moonshine was brighter than that of other folks1 ,i think it's time to call the meeting to order4 ,while you have been gossiping ,i have been at work1 and now our house is almost done1--that is to say1 it's well begun4 ,the stone walls of the first story are finished1 the frame is raised and covered4 ,i've done one thing without asking anybody's advice2 covered the roof with the best cedar shingles ,i could find4 ,i hired an honest man to lay them1 who would throw out all that were dubious and lay the cross-grained ones right side up1 and painted the tin valleys both sides before the shingles were laid4 ,then ,i took the difference in cost between this and a good slate roof and put it in the savings-bank4 ,at the end of twenty years1 if my roof lasts as long1 my deposit will put on the best kind of a slate roof and leave three hundred dollars to go to the ,society for the ,promotion of ,fine ,art in ,general and ,rural ,architecture in ,particular4 ,i know the shingled roof may burn me up1 if the chimney should happen to take fire some windy night1 but 't won't cost so much for repairs as slate if they should blow over1 either all at once1 or one brick at a time4 ,my neighbors may not like the looks1 especially while it's new2 but if we have nothing uglier than a mellow gray-shingled roof1 ,i don't think anybody'll be hurt4 ,i wish we had something like the tile roofs ,i've seen in foreign pictures4 ,they'd go first-rate with my stone walls4 ,the eave-spouts bother me4 ,i don't need to save the water from the roof1 and have concluded to let it pour where it pleases4 ,the porches protect the doorsteps1 and ,i think it will be easier to take care of it after it falls than to hang gutters all around emptying at the corners and angles4 ,they are troublesome things anyway4 ,the leaves clog them1 the ice dams them1 the snow comes down in an avalanche and smashes them1 they fall to leaking and spoil the cornice1 and after they are all done there's no certainty that the water won't run the wrong way4 ,i can put them up afterwards if necessary1 but don't believe it will be4 ,the last counsel you gave me was to open the eyes of my house for the daylight to shine through without let or hindrance4 ,i'm beyond advice on that subject4 ,carpets and curtains shall fade rather than wife and babies4 ,my windows yawn like barn-doors4 ,there isn't a room in the house that won't have the sun a part of the day1 and he looks into the sitting-room from the moment his cloudy bedclothes are thrown off in the morning1 till he hides his face behind ,mount ,tom at night4 ,my glass bill will count up1 but ,i'd rather pay for glass in windows than for iron in the shape of tonics4 ,now1 if you will settle the question of warming and ventilating you shall be honorably discharged4 ,don't try to show off your science by telling me how carbon1 the wicked1 poison stuff1 is heavy1 and we must leave a hole near the floor where it can run out and be coaxed up to the ridgepole after it gets cold1 and then make pictures covered with arrow-heads to show how well-educated air ought to go6 ,talk as many gases as you please to other folks4 ,i know two or three things for certain4 ,coal costs ten dollars a ton2 that's one4 ,i want just as large a house in winter as in summer2 that's another4 ,i mean the whole house must be comfortable1 in shape to use when needed4 ,i know a man will be cut off suddenly by his own breath if he has nothing else for his lungs4 ,mixing fresh air with it will prolong his career more or less1 but it's only a question of time when he shall give up the ghost if he attempts to subsist on anything less simple and pure in the way of respiration than the out-door atmosphere4 ,that's bad enough in some places4 ,what ,i don't know and want you to tell me1 is how to keep cool in summer1 warm in winter1 and at the same time have all the fresh air we can possibly consume4 ,i know how to keep warm3 build a tight room1 keep it shut up1 set a box stove in the middle of it1 and blaze away4 ,a ton of anthracite or a cord of hickory will keep you warm all winter1 especially if you die before spring1 as you probably will4 ,i know how to have fresh air too3 open the windows and let it blow2 but unless a man lives down in a coalmine he can't well afford to keep warm under such circumstances4 ,i believe this question is the chief concern of builders here below1 and whoever invents an economical solution of it will not only make a fortune1 but he'll deserve one4 ,why don't you go for it8 ,yours1 ,,john ,,letter ,,xxxviii4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,when ,,the ,,doctors ,,differ4 ,,dear ,,john3 ,your economical reasons for using shingles would justify cheap jewelry and rag carpets4 ,try to be consistent4 ,i should object to slate on a log-barn or shingles on a stone-house4 ,i hope you furnished your honest carpenter with a stout jack-knife1 and required him not only to lay the shingles right side up1 but to lay the upper ends close together1 leaving them apart at the butt4 ,gutters are troublesome truly1 but often indispensable2 there is no resource but to have them thoroughly made4 ,poor ones are worse than none4 ,those that hang independently of the cornice are safest for cheaper buildings1 but should be treated as an essential feature2 that is1 you should not complete the cornice without a gutter and afterwards disfigure it by a sloping spout having no apparent kinship to the rest of the finish4 ,the problem of warming and ventilating is easily solved for those who desire its solution sufficiently to make the necessary appropriations4 ,one quarter of what is commonly spent for vanity and deceit will be ample4 ,most men and women1 at least the unthinking1 prefer fashionable show rather than health6 ,a fearful statement1 but sadly true4 ,there is doubtless more danger from impure air than from cold4 ,our senses warn us quickly of the latter2 the prompting of knowledge is needed to guard us against the former1--of a practical knowledge unfortunately rare4 ,men1 women1 and children are dying daily through ignorance and indifference on this subject4 ,there is hardly a school-house to be found in which the murder of the innocents is not continually rehearsed1 hardly a church in which the spiritual elevation resulting from attendance therein is not counterbalanced by an equal physical depression1 and rarely a hall or lecture-room wherein an audience can even listen to a physiological discourse on the fatal effects of impure air without experimentally knowing that they are listening to solemn truth2 while as to the dwelling-houses1 the homes of the dear people1 it requires no bloodhound's scent to distinguish them one from another6 ,the moment the front door is opened to me1 ,i am assailed by the odor peculiar to the establishment4 ,it may be tuberoses or garlic1 mould or varnish1 whitewash1 gas1 lamp-smoke1 or new carpets1 a definite and describable or an indefinite and indescribable fragrance1 but it is sure to be something besides pure fresh air4 ,illustration3 ,,shingling4 ,let me give you first a suggestion for summer ventilation4 ,did you ever shingle the south side of a barn on a calm1 hot1 sunny day in ,july1 thermometer at ninety degrees in the shade8 ,did you ever lay your hand on a black slate or tin roof exposed to the direct rays of a midsummer sun8 ,have you ever1 at the close of some hot1 labor-spent day in ,august1 sat out of doors until the evening air became deliciously cool1 and then climbed to your attic dormitory1 there to spend a sleepless night in perspiration and despair1 anathematizing the man who built and the fate which compelled you to occupy such a chamber of torment8 ,now1 there is no good reason why the rooms immediately under the roof of a house should be any more uncomfortable on account of heat than those of the first story4 ,nay1 more1 by the simplest application of common-sense1 these upper rooms may be so coolly ventilated that the hotter the sun pours his rays upon the roof the more salubrious shall be your palace in the sky4 ,and this ,i call a triumph of genius1 making the seemingly destructive wrath of the elements to serve and save us4 ,m4 ,figuier tells us with just how many hundred thousand horse-power the sun1 by the caloric of its beams1 operates upon the surface of the earth4 ,i cannot tell precisely how much force is spent upon the roofs of the houses that cover so much of the good mother's bosom in certain localities1 but ,i know that it is wonderfully great1 and that rightly controlled it will make the space immediately under these roofs cool instead of hot4 ,and this is the way to cause the heat of a burning sun to cool the attic chamber3 ,make the space between the rafters on the sunny sides of your building as smooth and unobstructed as possible4 ,arrange openings into the outer air at the lower end of each1 simple or complex1 according to your taste and ability4 ,provide also means for closing the same in cold weather4 ,be sure that these spaces1 or flues1 are enclosed either by lath and plaster1 or by smooth boards1 quite to the highest part of the roof1 whether your rooms are finished to the top or not1--and provided with an abundant outlet at the top4 ,this may also be as simple as the dorsal breathing-holes of a tobacco barn1 gorgeously imposing as an ,oriental pinnacle1 or it may be a part of the chimney2 only let it be at the very summit1 ample1 and so arranged that an adverse wind shall not prevent the egress of the rising currents of air4 ,mind this1 too2 it is by no means the same thing to let these flues open into a loft over the attic rooms1 with windows in gables or other outlet4 ,now1 do you not see that as soon as the sun has warmed the flues1 there will be a stiff breeze blowing1 not over the roof1 but really between the roof and the house1 and the hotter the sun the stiffer the breeze2 in the words of one who has tried it1--a perfect hurricane4 ,that is1 the lath and plaster1 or sheathing1 which forms the inner roof1 is shaded by a canopy of slate1 shingles1 or tin1 and fanned by a constant breeze as cool at least as the outer air4 ,but we can do vastly better than that4 ,instead of opening the lower ends of these flues to the outer air1 they may be extended wherever the needs of the house require1 or its construction will allow4 ,let me remind you1 under the head of general principles1 that there is no such thing as suction4 ,of course1 you know it when you stop to think1 but bear it in mind1 and wherever the motive-power seems to be applied on which you rely to lift the column of air1 remember that if raised at all it must be raised from the bottom4 ,maybe you will discover room for a moral here4 ,this summer ventilation is simple enough1 and relates rather to comfort than to health4 ,the great question in building1 for ,new ,england and similar climates1 is1 indeed1 how to keep our houses warm1 and1 without great expenditure of fuel1 have a constant change of air4 ,as you suggest1 we have learned that wood costs eight or ten dollars a cord instead of the mere labor of cutting and hauling2 hence we have shut the mouths of the old-time fireplaces1 mouths that it would cost a fortune to feed4 ,we find the value of building-timber increasing every year2 so we make thinner walls1 lined outside and inside with paper1 and have cold houses1 no fresh air1 anthracite coal1 and disease4 ,our grandfathers carried foot-stoves to church1 where they sat and shivered1 sometimes with the cold1 sometimes at the doctrines4 ,we have warm air and stale4 ,let us hope our children will have warmth and freshness for body and soul4 ,they1 in their homes1 had big fireplaces1 loose doors1 rattling windows1 cracks in the walls1 and as they lay in bed looked at the stars through the chinks in the roof1 or felt the snow blow on their cheeks which were ruddy with health and vigor4 ,we have cylinder stoves1 double windows1 tight walls plastered and papered1 and pale faces4 ,illustration3 ,,good ,,old ,,times4 ,yet we build and furnish more wisely than our ancestors4 ,they ventilated because they couldn't help it1 couldn't afford to build as we do1 and could afford to burn an acre of woodland every year4 ,it is no light task you have set me preliminary to an honorable discharge4 ,next to theology and government finance there is no subject on which the doctors differ and dogmatize as in this matter of warming and ventilating1 most of them preferring that the universe should suffocate rather than their pet theories and furnaces be found wanting4 7,i'm not speaking of the theologians47 ,let me restate a few general principles1 simple and obvious1 yet so important that we must not risk forgetting them4 ,air runs away with heat fast enough if allowed to move4 ,confined it is a more effectual barrier than granite walls and plates of steel4 ,hence the spaces in the wall should not extend its whole height unless for local ventilation4 ,cut them off surely at each floor1 and as much oftener as you please2 also make the floors tight and warm4 ,deafen with mortar if you can afford it1 and do not allow the open spaces between the floor-timbers to extend unbroken through the house1 or fail to close them between the rafters when the ceiling of the highest story is above the plates4 ,if you wish to warm the entire house1 it will be good economy to lath and plaster along the under side of the rafters quite to the ridgepole4 ,finally put on your double windows1 and you are ready for winter quarters4 ,in theory1 the house being once warmed1 the temperature within should scarcely change1 even if the fire goes out4 ,practically1 the walls cannot hold this subtile caloric1 however scientifically they are padded4 ,there will be crevices1 too1 though the prince of joiners builds your house1 through which the warm air will escape4 ,but replenishing this inevitable loss would be a small matter1 if the breath of life were a needless luxury4 ,unless1 however1 we are willing to suck poison into our veins with every breath we draw1 slow but sure1--poison expired from our lungs and emanating from our bodies1 poisonous gases liberated by the combustion of fuel1 poison dust and decay from the waste of inorganic material1--we must have a never-ceasing supply of fresh air around us everywhere and always4 ,now this incoming fluid1 cold as ice1 eats fuel like a hungry giant1 yet we must receive it with open arms1 and1 as soon as fairly warmed1 send it off through the ventilating flue1 bearing whatever noxious elements may chance to be afloat1 and1 of course1 much of the warmth we love and buy so dearly4 ,we have then to supply these three sources of loss4 ,obviously for economy the two former must be prevented to the utmost1 the latter rigidly controlled4 ,thus far1 except the old fogies who don't believe in ventilation1 we can all travel together harmoniously4 ,now our way divides1 the doctors begin to differ1 and the patients begin to die4 ,the first fork is at the two modes of warming1 direct and indirect4 ,the former includes stoves of all sorts1--sheet or cast iron1 porcelain1 soapstone1 brick or pottery1 box or cylinder1 for wood or coal1 air-tight1 ,franklin1 cannon1 or base-burner1 parlor cook or kitchen cook1 charcoal basin1 warming-pan or foot-stove1--anything in which you can build a fire4 ,it includes open grates and fireplaces1 ancient or modern1 large or small2 it includes steam-pipes1 hot-water pipes1 and stove-pipes2 and last1 but not least1 steam-radiators1 than which it has never entered into the heart of man to conceive anything more surprising and unaccountable1--flat1 pin-cushiony things1 big as a bedquilt1 dangerous-looking hedgehoggy affairs1 some huge and bungling1 others frail and leaky1 but radiators still4 ,in brief1 the heating apparatus1 whatever it may be1 stands in the room to be warmed4 ,by the indirect mode it is enclosed in a chamber more or less remote1 commonly called a furnace1 and made of brick1 sheet-iron1 or wood lined with tin4 ,into this chamber cold air is admitted from some source1 and escapes by its own levity1 usually through tin pipes1 to the rooms where the heat is needed4 ,sometimes it is driven out by mechanical means4 ,the advocates of the latter indirect mode claim for it many advantages4 ,it is apparently clean4 ,there are no ashes to be taken up1 no hearths to sweep1 no andirons to polish1 no stoves to black4 ,one fire will warm the entire house if well arranged1 and1 for a trump card1 there may be a supply of fresh air straight from the north pole1 but agreeably warmed1 constantly entering the room4 ,the objections are less numerous but more weighty4 ,the liability to imperfect construction and careless management often makes a furnace1 especially a cast-iron one1 a savor of death unto death rather than of health and comfort2 also1 when we are warmed by air thrown into a room at a high temperature1 and dry at that1 a greater degree of heat is necessary for comfort than if our bodies and clothing absorb heat from a radiating surface4 ,the furnace1 in short1 compels us to breathe an atmosphere highly rarefied4 ,we have the most careful and competent authority for believing this to be gravely injurious4 ,direct radiation from stoves1 or other heating apparatus1 except open fireplaces1 is1 moreover1 economical of fuel1 but1 on the other hand1 unless abundant ventilation is provided1 the atmosphere in rooms thus warmed soon becomes unfit for respiration4 ,now you may stop and think4 ,next time you shall have the conclusion of the whole matter4 ,,letter ,,xxxix4 ,from ,john4 ,,how ,,to ,,do ,,it4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,i'm in a hurry4 ,let me ask you a few square questions4 ,give me square answers if you can2 if not1 say so4 ,what kind of a furnace shall ,i get8 ,i've interviewed about a dozen2 each one is warranted to give more heat1 burn less coal1 leak less gas1 give less trouble and more satisfaction1 than all the others put together4 ,i suppose you object to cast-iron1 because it's liable to be heated red-hot and burn the air4 ,is wrought-iron any better8 ,shall ,i put the registers in the floors or in the partitions8 ,what do you say to steam8 ,how shall ,i ventilate8 ,will it answer to have the ventilating flues in the outer walls8 ,there seems to be no doubt that the foul air should be drawn from the bottom of a room2 but if it's cold1 how am ,i to get it to the ventilator on the top of the house8 ,if a room is as tight as a fruit-can1 a chimney might draw like a yoke of oxen without doing any good1 and ,nebuchadnezzar's furnace wouldn't drive air into it unless1 in both cases1 the inlets and outlets were about equal6 ,when ,i go to sleep in such a room ,i want to be sure the dampers won't get accidentally shut4 ,give me your opinion on these points1 but don't make a long story or a tough one4 ,if a house is to be kept warm from turret to foundation-stone1 ,i don't see that shutting up the spaces between the timbers would amount to much1 except to stop sounds from echoing through them2 but when the attic is as cold as out-doors1 it's plain that the cold air will be always crawling down next the inside plastering of every room in the house if it finds a chance4 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,xl4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,the ,,breath ,,of ,,life4 ,,dear ,,john3 ,no man ever built himself a house without getting out of patience before it was finished4 ,among all the furnaces you have examined1 a certain one is doubtless better for you than any other2 when ,i find out which one1 you shall be informed4 ,reliable testimony on the subject can only be given by some one who has tried different kinds in the same house under similar circumstances for a considerable time4 ,as we never have two seasons alike1 and do have about three new first-class furnaces every year1 it is difficult to find this valuable witness4 ,printed testimonials are worth three or four cents per pound4 ,i do not know that cast-iron furnaces are more liable to be overheated than others1 and you cannot burn the air with them if they are1 unless you burn the furnace too4 ,you may fill a room with air1 every mouthful of which has been passed between red-hot iron plates1 not over half an inch apart1 and ,i do not suppose the essential properties of the air will be perceptibly changed1 or hurt for breathing when properly cooled4 ,the danger from cast-iron is in its weakness1 not in its strength4 ,you speak of poison carbon4 ,carbonic acid is not poison4 ,it is harmless as water1--just4 ,it will choke you to death if you are immersed in it4 ,trying to breathe it in large quantities will strangle you4 ,but we drink it with safety and pleasure1 and may breathe a little of it1 even as much as thirty per cent1 for a short time1 without serious harm4 ,but carbonic oxide1 which is also liberated from burning anthracite1 is an active poison1 and one per cent of it in the air we breathe may prove instantly fatal4 ,now it is fully proven that these gases laugh at cast-iron and pass through it freely whenever they choose4 ,wrought-iron plates are supposed to be more impervious4 ,the popular notion that foul air must be drawn from the bottom of a room is based1 ,i think1 upon a superficial knowledge of the weight of carbonic acid1 an ignorance of the law of the diffusion of gases1--upon a realizing sense of the cost of coal1 and an insensibility to the worth of fresh air4 ,even such unreliable witnesses as our senses assure us that the air at the top of a high room--say the upper gallery of an unventilated theatre--is far less salubrious1 though not overheated1 than that below4 ,we know1 too1 how quickly the sulphurous gas that sometimes escapes from those warranted furnaces not only ascends through the tin pipes1 but rises in the open stairway if it has a chance4 ,the hurtful carbonaceous gases doubtless go with it1 and are then diffused through the room4 ,the most forcible objection to allowing the air to escape through the ceiling is that it is a wanton waste1 not only of heat1 but of the fresh air that has just come from the north pole by way of the furnace and cold-air box1 and which1 by virtue of its warmth1 goes in all its purity straight to the ceiling4 ,accordingly the heavy cold air lying near the floor and laden with poison must be drawn out through the ventilating flue1 till the upper warmth and freshness fall gently on our heads1 like heavenly blessings4 ,let me digress here to answer another question4 ,no1 don't put your ventilating flues in the outer walls if you expect the air to rise through them in cold weather2 for it will not1 if they reach the moon1 unless it is warmer than that lying at their base4 ,you may as well expect water to rise from the cistern to the tank in the attic because the pipe runs there1 as that air will rise simply because there is a passage for it4 ,sometimes holes are made into the chimney-flues1 but this is robbing the stoves or the fireplaces4 ,it is better to build an independent flue so close that it shall always feel the heat from the black warm heart of the chimney1 for warmed by some means it must be4 ,yet warm air does not choose to rise4 ,it falls like lead unless lifted by something heavier than itself4 ,to return to the former point4 ,when you can warm within a ventilating flue all the air passing through it more economically than you can warm the same quantity in the room from which it is taken1 then you may admit the air to feed this same flue near the bottom and perhaps save fuel2 but ,i doubt whether the remaining air will be any purer than if an equal amount had been allowed to escape near the ceiling4 ,the answers to your square questions necessarily dovetail4 ,the hot-air registers should always be in the partitions if possible4 ,it saves sweeping dust into the pipes2 it saves cutting the carpets2 it lessens the risk of a debilitating warm bath to people addicted to standing over them2 it diffuses the heat more evenly through the room2 and1 owing to this better diffusion1 there is less waste through the ventilating outlet at the top of the room1 if it should be there4 ,the foregoing refers to rooms heated on the furnace principle1 where all that seems needful for complete ventilation is a sufficient outgoing of the air to cause a constant change4 ,in theory1 too1 the warm air must cross the room to make its exit4 ,indeed1 the plan of admitting it at the top and drawing the cold air from the base has been strongly urged by one of the most earnest and thoughtful advocates of thorough ventilation4 ,in practice1 this fresh air is apt to come from the region of the coal-bin and potato-barrels1 especially in very cold weather1 and ,i doubt whether it will find the door of escape sooner at one side than another1 unless immediately over the entrance4 ,as to your next inquiry1 ,i do not think our winter quarters can be warmed so safely and healthfully in any other way as by steam or hot-water radiators2 but the first cost of the modes now in use puts them beyond the reach of common people1 the very ones who need them most4 ,whether it's the tariff on pig-iron1 the patent royalties1 the skilled labor1 the artistic designs1 the steam joints and high pressure1 or all combined1 that make the cost1 ,i cannot say1 but ,i have faith that some one of the noble army of inventors will1 erelong1 give us a system more economical in manufacture and simple in use than any at present known4 ,it will hardly bring him a fortune1 however4 ,the real benefit to humanity will be too great for a temporal reward4 ,not only will this coming system be available for cheap and isolated houses1 but when they stand compactly1 one boiler will send its portable caloric to the dwellers on one entire square1 as gas and water are now distributed4 ,if stoves or other local radiators are used1 you must of course provide for the entrance of pure air as well as the exit of the impure4 ,with two openings in the ceiling1 the air will commonly ascend one and descend the other4 ,open fireplaces1 whether for wood or coal1 are in favor with those who have learned to love fresh air1 besides being1 for their cheerfulness1 an unfailing antidote to melancholy1 and other selfish1 spiritual ills4 ,the truth in regard to their healthfulness is simply that they compel us to sacrifice a large amount of fuel to the goddess of ventilation1 far more than would be needed to give us a better state of the atmosphere1 if applied in some other way2 for the fire itself is hungry for oxygen1 fireplaces for wood are mightily prone to smoke1 and anthracite coal releases its poisonous gases at times so rapidly that none but the most voracious chimney will carry them safely away4 ,to answer your questions directly3 with a good stove in the hall and in each of the rooms not commonly used1 you would probably afford one or two open fires for those constantly occupied1 and keep comfortable with less outlay for fuel than with a furnace4 ,but you would need an accommodating fool to make your fires1 and an industrious philosopher to keep them burning4 ,in this matter of warming and ventilating the more you know the more you will wish to learn4 ,my hope is to set you thinking and studying4 ,read ,dr4 ,george ,derby's little book on ,anthracite and ,health1 from which ,i have drawn already for your benefit2 read the statistics of the increase of pulmonary diseases2 get the physiological importance of fresh air so clearly before your mind's eye that your dinner seems a secondary consideration1 and don't be deceived by any bigoted commentators1 or forget to use your own common-sense4 ,while warming our backs we may dispose of some adjacent matters4 ,you can make a very pretty fireplace for wood of the common buff-colored fire-bricks1 either alone or variegated with good common red bricks2 a hearth of encaustic tile1 pressed bricks1 or even ,portland cement4 ,let the hearth be a generous one1 two and a half feet wide1 and at least two feet longer than the width of the fireplace1 if you mean it for actual use4 ,you must not suppose ,i object to cheap things because they are cheap and therefore common4 ,the more so the better if they have real merit2 but the marbleized slate mantels so abundant have not enough intrinsic beauty to justify them in supplanting the more honest and unpretending ones of wood4 ,real marble ought to be too expensive for such houses as yours4 ,illustration3 ,,brick ,,fireplace4 ,with a furnace your house becomes a lumber-kiln1 and any wood that has not been tried as by fire will1 under its influence1 warp and crack and shrink2 in carpenters' phrase1 it tears the finish all to pieces4 ,the rapid shrinking of the joists and studs near the hot-air pipes is also apt to cause cracks in the plastering that would never appear if the whole frame could shrink evenly1 for shrink it will more or less4 ,the application of these remarks would be1 putting in the furnace as soon as possible1 and keeping it steadily at work drying sap from the wood and water from the plastering till it enters upon its legitimate mission of warming the house4 ,when you have read all this about heating and ventilating two or three times over1 these conclusions will begin to crystallize in your mind3-- ,open fires give the surest ventilation and the best cheer4 ,if stoves are used for economy1 fresh air must be systematically admitted4 ,furnaces are immensely useful to warm the bones of the house and as a sort of reserve force2 but the heat they give is somewhat like a succession of ,january thaws4 ,if you begin to investigate you will discover a fearful amount of ignorance and indifference where you should find positive information1 and the most discouraging obscurity or conflicting statements among those who profess to be wise in such matters4 ,,letter ,,xli4 ,from ,john4 ,,eternal ,,vigilance4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,you did well to send the key to your puzzles1 else ,i might have frozen to death before finding out how to keep warm4 ,but you've earned your discharge1 which ,i forward herewith4 ,now ,i'm going to send you some grains of wisdom1 gathered during my experience in building1 which you may distribute at your discretion among your clients4 ,when a man--,i don't care if it's ,solomon himself--undertakes to build a house1 tell him from me1 to wind up all other earthly affairs before beginning2 wind them up so tight they'll run for a year or two without any of his help4 ,then turn over a new leaf1--learn to get through breakfast before seven ,a4,m41 in order to be on the ground every moment1 from the time the first spadeful of dirt is thrown out till the last touch of paint is put on4 ,you may make full-sized drawings for him of every stick and stone1 write specifications by the yard1 and draw up a contract that half a dozen lawyers can't expound1 there'll still be a thousand little things that won't be done as he wants them4 ,the openings in the basement wall somehow get out of place1 an inch or two too high or too low1 or at one side1 then the windows over them will look askew4 ,the air-spaces in the wall will be filled up where they ought not to be1 or left out where they ought to be filled2 then the frost will go through one and the rats the other4 ,if he uses colored mortar1 it will be too dark or too light1 or too something1--then he'll be obliged to paint the whole wall4 ,the drains won't be put in the right place1 or they'll pitch the wrong way2 then he'll have to dig out new ones4 ,the receivers for the stove-pipes will be forgotten or set in the ventilating-flues2 then he might as well have no chimney4 ,the masons will drop bricks and mortar and trowels down the flues2 then he'll have to climb upon the roof with a brick tied to a rope and try to churn them out4 ,just at the place where the flues ought to be plastered outside and in1 against the floor and roof timbers1 the masons can't reach1 and like as not they'll turn a brick up edgewise if a joist happens to crowd2 then his house will burn up and never give him any more trouble4 ,the war with the masons is short and sharp2 that with the carpenters long and tedious4 ,there are ten thousand ways you don't want a thing done1 only one that suits you4 ,setting partitions looks like easy work2 ,i don't believe a house was ever built in which all of them and the doors through them were in just the right places4 ,i know they 're not in mine4 ,i'd give three times the cost of the door if one of them could be moved1 two inches1 and as much more if another could be made six inches wider4 ,i tried to have one of the mantels set in the middle of one side of the room1 but somehow it got fixed just enough away from the centre to look everlastingly awkward4 ,the rough work gets covered up pretty quickly1 but it pays to keep watch and see that the spikes are put in where they belong2 that the back plastering reaches quite up to the plate and down to the sill2 that timbers are not left without visible means of support1 or hung by toe-nails when they ought to be well framed and pinned4 ,it's hard to make a carpenter believe that plastering cracks because his joists and furrings and studs won't hang together1 but it's true a good many times4 ,you like1 also1 to have something more than a good man's assurance1 that the furnace pipes are all right1 and will sleep better on windy nights if you have seen all exposed corners guarded by a double lining4 ,the gas-man had his work to do over because some of the drop-lights were not in the centre of the ceilings4 ,i tremble to think of what might have been if ,i had left the painter to his own devices4 ,it seems very clear to say you'll have the outside painted a sort of a kind of subdued gray1 with trimmings a little darker1 bordering on a brown2 but unless you stand over the paint-tub with a loaded revolver1 you'll get anything but what you expect4 ,it may be a great deal better1 but it won't be what you wanted4 ,by the way1 there's a great responsibility resting on the painters1--,i don't mean the old masters1 nor the young ones either1 who seem to have forgotten that outside decoration was once considered quite worthy the tallest genius1--but the more modest artisans1 who call themselves house and sign painters4 ,their broad brush often makes the beauty or the ugliness of a whole village4 ,i'm ready for any suggestions on the subject4 ,hanging the doors is another point that needs watching4 ,they'll be sure to open the wrong way4 ,i've had three changed already1 and ,i'll never hang another door with less than three butts1 whatever its size4 ,i suppose they always settle more or less4 ,why don't the workmen make allowance for it in fixing the catches8 ,i tremble when ,i think of the painters1 but ,i rejoice at my watchfulness when ,i reflect on the plumbing4 ,the chances for leaking and freezing and bursting2 the hidden pipes and secret crooks that were possible and only avoided by constant oversight6 ,now ,i can put my hand on every foot of pipe in the house1 know where it goes to1 what it's for1 and that it won't burst or spring a leak with fair usage4 ,i don't call it just the thing to drive a tenpenny nail square through a lead pipe1 pull it out1 and say nothing about it4 ,you want to be on hand1 too1 when the trimmings are put on1 and see that they are not too high or low1 or fixed so you will bruise your knuckles every time you pull out the drawers or open the cupboard doors4 ,speaking of cupboards1 there's no end to the bother if you don't just camp down in the pantry and stay there till the top shelf is up and the bottom drawer slides in its groove4 ,in spite of our efforts1 ,mrs4 ,john says there's no place for her tallest covered dish except the top shelf1 which she can't reach without a step-ladder4 ,you'll never know whether you are specially bright or the joiners extra stupid1 but it's certain your way won't be their way1 whichever is right4 ,i say the man who pays his money should take his choice4 ,but ,i haven't time to tell the whole story4 ,it's the same thing from first to last4 ,the only sure way of having a thing done well is to do it yourself2 the next best is to tell some one else precisely how to do it and then watch them till it's done4 ,the worst of these little blunders is1 that they won't improve with age4 ,they stare at you every time you see them1 and they'll rise up before your great-great-grandchildren1 monuments of your carelessness and ignorance4 ,i told you my house was half done when it was well begun2 now that it is almost done it seems to me only fairly begun4 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,letter ,,xlii4 ,from the ,architect4 ,,saved ,,by ,,conscience4 ,dear ,john3 ,we are just beginning to learn the importance of color4 ,i don't allude to the wonderful revelations of the spectroscope almost passing belief1 but the new departure in the useful art of house-painting4 ,the old weather-stained1 unpainted walls were not unpleasant to see2 even the unmitigated red1 that sometimes made a bright spot in the landscape1 like a single scarlet geranium in the midst of a lawn1 had a kind of amiable warmth1 not to be despised2 but there is no accounting for the deluge of white houses and green blinds that prevailed a few years ago4 ,if nature had neglected our education in this respect we might be excused for our want of invention4 ,with infinitely varied and ever-changing colors smiling upon us at all times and in all places1 it is blind wilfulness not to see and strive to imitate them4 ,we need not look to the sky nor even to the woods in their summer brightness or autumn glory4 ,the very ground we tread glows and gleams with the richest1 softest tints of every hue and shade4 ,look through a hole in a piece of white paper and try to match on the margin the color you find4 ,turn in a dozen different directions1 avoid the trees and the sky1 and you will have1 in summer or winter1 a dozen different colors4 ,look in the same places to-morrow1 and they will all be changed1 an endless variety4 ,some one of these soft and neutral tints should clothe the body of your house4 ,enliven it1 if you choose1 with dashes of crimson1 green1 or even blue and gold1 but use these bright colors carefully4 ,aim to make your house 7in this as in all other respects7 in harmony with its surroundings1 not defiant of them4 ,your proffered advice shall be duly applied1 for it's true that a man may easily occupy all his leisure time1 be it more or less1 in watching the building of his home1 however carefully the work may be laid out before he begins4 ,no two builders will interpret and execute the same set of plans exactly alike4 ,there are different habits of training and tricks of trade4 ,what seems finished elegance to one is coarse awkwardness to another2 and when you enter upon the more artistic part of the work1 there are fine shadings impossible1 even with the best intent1 to any save the cultured hand and eye4 ,the inability to perceive and therefore to bring out these delicate expressions in the execution of the work must be borne patiently4 ,we can pardon failure when it follows an humble1 honest effort4 ,the unpardonable sin of builders is their wilful attempt to improve the architect's design by making alterations in cold blood1 through sheer ignorance and conceit4 ,they will reduce the size of the doors and windows2 substitute some other moulding for that on the drawing2 or tell you they have made a bracket1 or a bay-window1 or a cupola1 for ,mr4 ,rusticus that looked first-rate1 and advise you to have the same thing4 ,no thought of harmony or fitness1 no fine sense of a distinctive idea1 pervading the whole1 and giving it unity and character1 ever enters their heads4 ,argument and persuasion are alike useless4 ,your only safety lies in finding some young builder1 who is not yet incurably wise in his own conceit1 or an old one1 who has learned that1 while architects are not infallible1 the taste and opinions of a man who studies faithfully a special department1 are entitled to more respect than even his own4 ,as you say1 these defects are commonly incurable4 ,neither is there any redress4 ,the builders will either tell you they couldn't help it1 did the best they knew how1 thought the lumber was seasoned1 understood the plans that way1 or else insist that it's better so1--and maybe ask you to pay extra for what you do not like4 ,as to your own right to spoil the house by any alterations that strike your fancy or accommodate your purse1 that is unquestioned4 ,architects who insist upon your having what you don't want or choose to pay for1 exceed their prerogatives1 and bring disfavor upon us considerate fellows4 ,we never try to dissuade a man from carrying out his own ideas4 ,we only beg him to be certain that he has a realizing sense of what he is undertaking1 then help him to execute it as well as we can4 ,the more he leaves to our discretion the more hopefully do we work4 ,all this is too late for you1 but you may pass it along to ,fred1 the schoolmaster1 ,miss ,jane1 and any other friends or neighbors who may be in an inquiring mood4 ,tell them1 too1 there is no safety1 even with the utmost vigilance1 unless every workman carries with him that old-fashioned instrument1 a conscience4 ,give me credit here for great self-control4 ,this is the place for some preaching of the most powerful kind1 but ,i refrain1 knowing you are too much engrossed with the finishing of your house to heed it4 ,do you remember how it is recorded in terse ,scripture phrase that ,solomon builded a house and finished it8 ,evidently the finishing was then quite as important and onerous a matter as the building4 ,i think it is a great deal more so4 ,the carpenters and masons1 to whom you pay a certain sum of money1 build it4 ,before they come and after they go you exercise upon it your noblest1 manliest faculties4 ,yet it will never be done4 ,the walls may not grow any larger or the roof any higher1 but every year will add some new charm1 some new grace and harmony without and within4 ,more and more the ground around it1 the trees1 the walks1 and the grateful soil will assimilate themselves to its spirit4 ,more and more each article of furniture will grow to be an essential part of the home1 dear for its comfort1 and beautiful in its fitness and simplicity4 ,more and more you will learn the worthlessness of boastful fashion1 and the exceeding loveliness of truth4 ,,letter ,,xliii4 ,from ,john4 ,,final ,,and ,,personal4 ,,my ,,dear ,,architect3 ,we've moved in4 ,the house wasn't done but the plastering was dry1 and the paint too1 what there is of it1 and enough rooms were finished to hold us comfortably4 ,mrs4 ,john thought we should somehow feel better acquainted if we took possession while things were in a chaotic state1 before the house had a chance to put on airs1 and make us feel like intruders2 that it would fit us better if it wasn't entirely hardened before we crawled into it4 ,i told her 't would be a great deal easier to wait till everything was cleared up and we could take a fresh start1 but she couldn't see it in that light4 ,said she'd known lots of folks to be completely overpowered by a new house1 and she proposed to take it while it was sort of helpless1 and would be under obligation to her4 ,it's better1 too1 according to her notions1 to get familiar with the rooms before furnishing them1 and--,i've forgotten what other reasons1 all good enough but not exactly correct1 as ,i've since found out4 ,i'd noticed some unusual and rather suggestive performances of late1 but wasn't quite prepared for a request to rent the old house the very day we moved4 ,matters seemed to culminate one night after the schoolmaster had received your sketches and estimates for his brick beginnings4 ,i can't say as to their merits architecturally1 but they cleared one of the rough places in a certain course that never runs quite smooth4 ,the dining-room and kitchen arrangements are all right1 and the establishment is already begun4 ,it will take all summer to finish it1 and1 meantime1 ,sister ,jane will have an opportunity to reduce some of her fine theories to practice in our old cottage4 ,whether they will all stand the test remains to be seen4 ,i only hope these two wise people won't pin their sole chance of domestic happiness to scientific housekeeping1 and if common-sense and dutiful intentions fail1 as they sometimes will1 that love will come to the rescue4 ,fred will build next year4 ,he's concluded it's better to have his work well done than done too quickly4 ,yours1 ,,john4 ,,by ,,way ,,of ,,appendix4 ,a ,,chapter ,,from ,,actual ,,experience4 ,now you can stay just as long as you please1 and ,i wouldn't have you feel hurried1 on any account2 but if you're really going to go pretty soon1 ,i'd like to know when it's to be1 so ,i can lay my plans accordingly4 ,thus our good landlady1 when we said our new house was beginning to look nearly ready for us4 ,a most reasonable request1 and we1 always cheerfully responsive to such1 replied1 ,by all means2 certainly2 quite right3 we'll see the workmen to-day and find out just when the new domicile will be ready for us4 ,in pursuance of this object1 straightway then we flew to the carpenter4 ,tell us1 ,o worthy master6 we cried1 when shall the new house be done8 ,wal1 let me see4 ,and he scratched his head with the scratch-awl4 ,it's a'most done now4 ,ther ain't much more to do4 ,we've pretty much finished up4 ,ther's the doors to hang and trim1 'n' the closet shelves 'n' things to fix up2 the stairs ain't quite done1 n'r the front steps4 ,i d'nno2 ther's a number o'little jobs 'round1--don't amount to much1--coal-bin1 thresholds1 and one or two things you want to change2 take three or four days1 ,i guess1 if the plumbers and furnace folks get out of the way2 week1 mebbe4 ,you think1 then1 by a week from next ,saturday--to-day is ,thursday morning--you will have everything cleared up8 ,o yes1 easy6 ,alas6 ingratitude is not confined to republics4 ,we thought it a most kind and judicious thing to grant nine days1 when but three or four--six at the most--had been asked4 ,worldly wisdom would have said1 ,no1 sir2 three days you can't have2 it must all be done to-morrow night4 ,but we are not worldly-wise2 innocent1 confiding1 and rejoicing1 we went our way1--went our way to the plumber4 ,o good plumber6 quoth we1 how long will it take you to complete the work you have begun so well8 ,how long8 ',twon't take no time4 ,just as soon as the copper comes for the tank1 ,i shall finish it all up4 ,there ain't much of it1 anyhow2 it's all done but that4 ,and when is the aforesaid copper coming8 ,when is't a coming8 ,any time4 ,shouldn't be surprised if 'twas here now4 ,you can finish it then surely within a week4 ,within a week8 ,i sh'd think likely1--the last remark backed up by such a smile as made further question impossible4 ,once more we pursued our investigating tour1 saying to the prompt proprietor of the centrifugal-stove store1 ,is that new furnace that is to make ,june of ,january1 that never does what it ought not to do or leaves undone what ought to be done1 that asks a mere handful of coal every twenty-four hours and runs itself1 ready for its trial trip8 ,it is1 sir4 ,registers all set and-- ,well1 no2 the registers can't be set till everything else is out of the way4 ,ah1 yes1 of course2 but 't won't take long to do that8 ,they shall all be set in the twinkling of an eye1 at a moment's notice4 ,and now it only remained to hie away to the painter4 ,so we hied and hailed him4 ,tell us1 ,o man of many hues6 how much time will you need to paint and stain and grizzle and grain and tint and stripe and fill and shellac and oil and rub and scrub and cut and draw and putty and sand-paper and size and distemper and border and otherwise exalt and glorify the walls and woodwork of our house1 after the other workmen are through1 making allowance for what you have already done and will be able to do while they are still at work8 ,i tell you what it is1 ,mr4 ,architect1 it shall be done just as soon as possible4 ,the fact is1 we've got the heft of it done now4 ,we shall follow the carpenters up sharp1 and get through almost as soon as they do4 ,outwardly serene1 but smiling triumphantly within1 we went to our daily roast-beef1 and in the sweet simplicity of a blissful ignorance and a clear conscience assured our patient hostess that the dog-days and her unworthy guests should go out together4 ,yet we never told a lie or wilfully deceived any man1 much less a woman4 ,but we anticipate4 ,at the close of the third day we essayed to examine progress at the new house4 ,as we approached1 a dim and doubtful but wondrous pleasant anticipation took possession of our fancy4 ,what if it should1 indeed1 be finished6 ,the carpenter had suggested three or four days1--three had already passed4 ,the painter was to get through almost as soon1 the plumber would surely be out of the way1 and there would be only the furnace registers4 ,it was1 perhaps1 too good to be true1 and we lingered to give the notion time to grow4 ,opening the door at last1 we received something the same shock the traveller feels when he encounters a guide-post telling him the next town is half a mile farther on than it was three miles back4 ,but we've not lived forty years without learning to bury our might-have-beens with outward composure1 whatever the internal commotion4 ,we remembered there was still a week1 and resolved to keep a sharp lookout that no time was wasted2 an idle resolution1 for the workmen were as anxious to get through as we were to have them4 ,faithful industry and attention we may demand1 haste we have no right to ask4 ,but our men actually hurried4 ,we were instant in season and out of season1 and can testify1 with both hands in our empty pockets1 that there was not an hour wasted4 ,yet our full-blown hopes fell1 as the roses fall1 leaf by leaf2 drop by drop our patience ebbed1 till1 ere the close of the week1 we sank slowly down on a pile of black-walnut shavings in the calmness of despair4 ,to make a long story short1 we gave up1 beaten1 trespassed a week on our long-suffering hostess1 then went to visit our rich relations4 ,they were glad to see us when we came1 and wondered how long we were going to stay4 ,we thought best to let them wonder1 which they did for the space of a few weeks1 when we folded our nightgowns and silently stole--not the spoons1 but ourselves--away4 ,we mentioned the calmness of despair4 ,from that depth it is often but a single step to the serenity of faith1 on which sublime height not the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds hath power to vex or make afraid1 much less a few pine shavings and the want of a little paint4 ,despair is never endless2 it's a short-lived emotion at the worst1 a selfish one at the best4 ,moralizing thus1 it was by some means revealed to us that people are happy in paying twenty-five dollars a week at ,martha's ,vineyard and ,mount ,desert for the blessed privilege of living in unfinished and unfurnished rooms1--breathing plenty of fresh air1 typhoid malaria thrown in1--and eating such food as the uncertain winds and waves may waft thither4 ,if at ,mount ,desert why not at ,rock ,rimmon1 especially as the cost is somewhat less1 the fresh air equally abundant1 with nothing more malarious than the pungent perfume of the pines1 and all the products of the civilized world within easy reach8 ,moreover1 our third1 fourth1 and fifth stories--the floor of the latter just above the ridge pole1 its ceiling just beyond the stars--were1 for all purposes of use and comfort1 ready for occupation4 ,so we entered1 hung up our hats1 and told the busy builders we had come to stay4 ,which we have done2 and now it's the first of ,october4 ,the leaves are falling1 the rooks are calling1 the crickets are crawling1 and the katydids are--well1 squalling4 ,there's a work-bench bigger than ,noah's ark in the drawing-room1 another in the library1 next size larger1 five tool-chests in as many different rooms1 a thousand feet of lumber in the front hall1 and nine hundred and thirty-seven different colored paint-pots in the guest-room1--more or less4 ,we pry into cupboards and drawers with our finger-nails1 we keep next the wall going up stairs1 draw water through a straw1 and to open doors we thrust a square stick through a round hole and twist and turn till the stick breaks or the door opens4 ,generally the stick breaks4 ,but we are no longer desperate4 ,the sound of the builder's axe and hammer mingles harmoniously with the rattling of dishes and the drumming of the piano4 ,a profound peace possesses our souls1 for ,nature's own infinite glory is around us1 and we go from our castle in ,spain to our cottage by the sea1 from our house of active industry to our restful home in the ,new ,jerusalem1 with the opening and the closing of a door4 ,we are not anxious or impatient1 being well assured that steadfast industry will finally conquer and our house be finished as far as mortal house should be4 ,which leads us to remark just here1 that a man ought never to think his house is quite complete2 he will not1 if he is wise1 and grows as long as he lives4 ,our present point is the inevitable delay in the outward finishing to which home building is especially subject1--a difficulty familiar to all who have tried it1 but which people cannot always get out of by jumping squarely into it as we have done4 ,there are various reasons for it4 ,a superficial view of building is one4 ,the masons are scarcely noticed before the foundation-walls are laid2 the walls shoot up in a single day2 the roof spreads its saving shelter as easily as though it were a huge umbrella2 the windows open their eyes in new-born wonder2 the chimneys breathe the blue breath of home life out into the world2 the painter touches the clapboards with his magic wand2 and1 with one accord1 all men cry out1 and especially all women1 ,wal1 ,i do declare6 ,that air house goes up in a hurry1 don't it8 ,guess there hain't much but green lumber gone into that4 ,folks'll be movin' in 'n a few days4 ,ketch me goin' into a house like that6 ,i'd a good deal druther live in an old house than die in a new one4 ,but1 for some reason1 the folks don't move in4 ,week after week passes without visible change till we hear no more of haste1 but owner and neighbors grow impatient1 and can't for their lives see why that house wa'n't done weeks and weeks ago6 ,in point of fact1 when it appeared almost wholly built1 it was hardly begun4 ,the work thus far had been of the sort that can be quickly executed1 much of it done by machinery4 ,even after the plastering is dry1 the floors laid1 the windows in1 and perhaps the greater part of the interior woodwork in place1 the actual labor of finishing is but fairly begun4 ,changes always cause delay more or less serious4 ,whoever makes alterations in his house builds four houses4 ,there is the first doing it1 which is one2 then there is the cussing and discussing1 the hesitating and final deciding to make the change1 equivalent1 at least in time and nervous wear and tear1 to the original work1 which is two2 the undoing is three2 and the final adjusting it to your mind is four4 ,woe to him by whom the change cometh1 but come it will4 ,it can be wholly avoided only by having things done as you do not want them and will never be satisfied to leave them4 ,of course1 the want of plans is a fruitful source of alterations4 ,we are too modest and too sensible to say all plans should be drawn by an architect1 but carefully prepared they must be1 and1 what is commonly more difficult1 thoroughly understood by the party most interested1 that is1 the owner4 ,another reason why the lengthened sweetness of finishing is so long drawn out comes from the constant increase of modern improvements1--accessories deemed essential to the completeness of home comfort and convenience4 ,nowhere is the fertility of inventive genius more apparent than in these household appliances1 to all of which the apostolic injunction applies1 ,prove and hold fast the good4 ,hold fast and be grateful1 for they are the world's best benefactors whose work makes happier homes4 ,,the ,,end4 ,cambridge3 ,electrotyped and ,printed by ,welch1 ,bigelow1 ,co4